Threads of Fate
by Vigilantia
Summary: Having fought in the Holy Grail War numerous times before, Archer thought he'd be ready for any surprises. However, with a new Black Key wielding Caster and a Dead Apostle skulking in the darkness of the war, he has his work cut out for him. Of course, those paled in comparison to his new problems with Saber.
1. Prologue: Prelude to War

_**Definitions:**_

**Hibiki Hibino** - Shy orange haired waitress that shows up in side Typemoon works.  
**Shin'i Agency** - A Japanese organization meant to deal with dangerous supernatural elements such as Dead Apostles or Demons. A relatively new organization, it utilizes more technological weapons and tools than its Church or the Magus Association counterparts. Originally introduced in the Nasuverse game Battle Moon Wars.  
**Mike** - Team lead of one of the sections of Shin'i. Originally from Battle Moon Wars.

* * *

_**- Threads of Fate -**_

_**- Prologue: The Prelude to War -**_

_**- The Sinner -**_

The rain poured around her as she forced herself forward. It was during a time like this that Caster truly cursed her abysmal luck and her idiotic master.

"Former master," she corrected herself.

She had done well. Her Master had been a legitimate magus; a strong magus sent from the Mage's Association to win the Holy Grail. Although, there really wasn't much to distinguish the 30 year old magus from anyone else, other than an overgrown case of arrogance mixed with egoism. However, though he dreamed of victory and claiming the Holy Grail, he had no plans to fight the war. He was perfectly happy to let all the other servants fight to the death as he sat and watched from the shadows. It was an excellent plan. But it would not win her the war. And it would not fulfill her wish. And that... that she could not allow. Not after everything she had been through.

She had waited, patiently, while inflating the man's already overflowing pride. She had bid her time while waiting for him to use his command seals.

When he had wasted his final command spell on a frivolous order, she'd struck. He'd been blown across the room and into the hall. Approaching his still form, the room bathed in the light of her crimson orbs of magic, she could have ended his life right there. For what he had put her through the vengeance would have been delicious. It would have been easy; just a simple incantation. But her cooler self had persevered. In the end she erased his memories and healed his burn wounds. Although she did savor the kick to his ribs before walking away.

And then... everything in her plan went wrong.

Caster's first hint that the attack was coming was a slight disturbance she felt around the boundary field she had placed around the house. They were almost unnoticeable, like hearing footsteps in a windstorm. She stopped and turned around, looking around the room more with her sense of magic than her sight. She could feel other intrusions in her boundary field.

Four figured materialized themself at the opposite end of the room; each wearing a skull mask that concealed their face. With surprise, she realized each one was the Servant Assasin. However, their magical signatures were too weak for each to be a full fledged Servant. She theorized Assassin must have had the ability to split off into many forms... or perhaps they were clever illusions... She couldn't risk testing the latter hypothesis.

At once, Caster wielded two swords in each hand, their metallic blades reflecting the outside moonlight; she tightened the Black Keys between her fingers in anticipation. Although the short handles and foot-long blades of the swords she had summoned made them inappropriate slashing or stabbing, if the user was skilled enough the blades made for a powerful thrown weapon.

She whipped all four blades towards the roof, impaling the Assassin that materialized from the ceiling above her; intent to ambush her. The Assassin's body fell to the ground dead with the four blades through his chest. Almost simultaneously, she heard the faint whistle of a blade as it flew through the air; nigh impossible to notice for a normal human. Another two blades formed and they flew from her grip, impaling another assassin, before she arched her body backward. The edge of their throwing daggers passed by so close she could feel the minute rush of wind. The whistle of the daggers flew past her before embedding in the wall behind them. Instinctively, she brought her gloved hand to her cheek and looked. A single drop of blood dripped from the cut on her cheek and onto her hand. Too close.

"Tsk, it appears we underestimate your abilities, Servant Caster," said one of the skull-masked Assassins. Four more figures, each of their faces concealed by the same skull mask, materialized in front of her.

"Leave," she said; new blades held at the ready. Her eyes stared coldly towards her new unwelcome guests. She backed up nervously towards her unconscious master. As much as she hated him, she didn't want to see him die and she needed his mana right now. Caster wondered if the Assassins had been waiting all this time, observing from outside, or if they had simply gotten lucky in their attack.

"Not until we accomplish our mission," he replied. The remaining three assassins ran towards her, their weapons raised. Muttering a simple incantation, a wave of fire washed over them and charred their bodies like tinder against an open fire.

The sound of rending flesh shot a dose of adrenaline through her veins and she turned in time to watch another Assassin embedding his blade again in to her master. She could tell from the wound that her master was dead.

"More Assassins?" she thought dimly. She cursed her stupidity. Of course there was more... You idiot. If there could be five assassins why wouldn't he be able to split off into more forms? With a burst of anger, she screamed and hurled her last set of Black Keys with such ferocity that it impaled the Assassin through the chest and into the wall behind him. A wave of fatigue assailed her senses and her knees gave way.

She held the wall for support and then slid to her knees as Gaia's crushing presence tightening around her. Without her master to anchor her to the world, Gaia would immediately attempt to push out any elements it deemed to be an anomaly. The resurrection of an already deceased hero happened to be included on that list. Caster could already feel her preciously small reserves of mana draining away as she fought to stay in this world. She prayed she had enough.

Her magic circuits tingled as she recited incantations within her head.

The assassins surrounded her, each one ready to pounce; yet none of them moved. A masterless Servant still had time before they faded from the world. Until that time, they were still an extremely dangerous opponent. She considered herself lucky that they weren't aware how little energy she had left. After a moment, one of them turned their head as if receiving an order from afar and began to approach her.

"You're an odd servant. You fight with skill befitting one of the knight classes.," he said, "Shame. You might have made a good Servant." The Assassin raised his dagger, ready to deliver the coup de grace.

Unseen underneath her hood, she gave a knowing smile. "You haven't seen anything yet." Finishing her mental incantation, the house detonated in a massive explosion that turned the walls into kindling before the entire building collapsed on top of them.

She sneezed violently and was brought to her knees; her long dark hair dripping ungraciously into a puddle. She always had the worst luck with her plans. It was bad enough she had had to spend her already limited reserves of mana to escape from Assassin. However, she wouldn't have had this problem if her Master hadn't been such an egotistical sexist. He couldn't bear the thought that another Magus, let alone a woman, could be better than him so he limited the prana he supplied to her. Even if she hadn't fought Assassin her magic reserves would have been dangerously low.

Her breath was shallow, her body shivered and felt weak, and her joints ached but she had to keep going. She had to keep walking or else... was that the ground rising to meet her?

Warm hands caught her before she fell and she unconsciously hugged the heat-source. It felt good to be held like that. Safe. As her mind finally fell into the darkness, her thoughts went to how she missed moments like this in her last life.

As consciousness returned to Caster, the first thing she noticed was the softness of the futon on her back. Looking around she noted she was in a rather plain Japanese-style room and someone had changed her into a dry Yukata. "How long have I been unconscious?" she wondered. She could feel strength returning to her body. The fact she was awake and wasn't slowly fading away meant two things. Firstly, someone had carried her here from the broken trail. More importantly, the slight tinge of aqua in the air and her recovered strength meant she was sitting upon a potent leyline. If it had been anywhere else, she had no doubt she would never have opened her eyes again.

"You are awake," stated a steady voice from the side, "Your original clothes are cleaned and ready. If you need to leave, then leave. If you need time to recover, then you can stay here at the temple." Kuzuki Souichirou closed the book he was reading and put away his glasses.

"How long have I been asleep?" she asked.

"Over a day," said Kuzuki, reaffirming Casters hypothesis. She supposed she should be thankful to whatever deity was watching over her. If somebody else had found her, she would have disappeared.

"You do not have to make your decision immediately. Dinner is in two hours in the main hall if you wish to attend," said Kuzuki as he got up to leave.

"I suppose I should thank you for saving me?" Caster asked from the futon.

"No," said Kuzuki, "it was a young student of mine that found you on his way here. His name is Emiya Shirou. "

"Waaaa!" she nearly yelled, "he... he didn't... um... eh... did he?" Though she wasn't making much sense, the fact she rapidly held the blankets above her already completely clothed body made her question abundantly clear.

"No, I did. They did not see anything if that is what you fear," stated Kuzuki plainly.

"I see... Thank you," she replied, her cheeks radiating a shade of scarlet. "If it is okay with you, I would like to stay here for a little while."

He responded by a curt nod and then quietly closed the door. Caster breathed a sigh of relief. Looking around the room, she noted Kuzuki had assigned her a room that would have been spacious even by Western standards. Without the usual amenities of life, the rice paper walls and tatami mats made the large room look more like a dojo than a bedroom. It wasn't a workshop or the fortress she had hoped for but that was fine. She had time to prepare for the war. Pushing back several strands of hair, Caster pushed herself off the bed and reached for her belongings.

* * *

_**- The Marksman -**_

Smoke floated high above the remains of the once proud city. The sky was filled with dust and smog from the raging wildfires that dotted the cityscape. High above the once proud skyline, a lone figure stood on the few remaining skyscrapers that dotted the landscape; like tombstones on a barren landscape. He stood motionless, his crimson cape fluttering from the high winds at this altitude. His grey eyes looked down at the ground far below him; picking up every detail with his reinforced eyes without betraying any emotion.

Down below, like the surface of the moon, innumerable craters replaced what had been structured city lanes and towering steel and concrete buildings. It had taken over three hundred years to create a city like this... It had taken him less than an hour to level it down into the ground.

Shattered VTOLs, unmanned walkers and dead infantrymen were all that was left of the last desperate attempt by the humans to stop the Dead Apostle's plans. They had failed, so he had been summoned. Millions lay dead in what was once a bustling metropolitan. He thought about how many people might have been saved this time around. If the Dead Apostle had been successful, the infection would have spread to a dozen other cities. Most likely, the Church and Magus' Association would have been involved and even more people would have died in their attempt to contain the situation. What he had done here was the right call. And yet...

On the ground, the survivors walked out from the temporary shelters they had sought. Under a collapsed girder, a woman cried in pain as two men tried to life the metal beam. She would need immediate medical treatment for the internal bleeding or else she wouldn't survive. Others cried out in pain outside his vision. Two men helped carry a child outside a burning cafe with a gurney; the boy barely older than fifteen. There were burn marks covering the kid's face and over half his body. It was unlikely that the boy would survive the night.

He was killing thousands of people to save even more people. Anyway he tried to justify it, his "duty" was nothing more than wanton destruction and slaughter in the name of the greater good. Even the warriors of Valhalla would have grown disgusted with such rife wasn't what he had wanted. There were no warm smiles of relief, laughter or tears of joy to be seen or heard where he went. Only sorrow.

A room materialized around him, with a warm stone hearth inserted into one side of the wall and an endless bookshelf on the other. Picking up his unfinished glass of wine, he took the newest book had been reading and placed it on the unending shelf adjacent to him. Though the room was a nice illusion, he knew exactly what it really was: a prison. One he would stay in until Alaya finally deemed his service complete. A Valhalla for his endless servitude.

On the endless shelf lay over a thousand books, over a lifetime's worth of experiences; each one similar to the desolate city he had just left behind.

He contemplated reaching for another book when he felt something tug at his chest. Putting down his wineglass, he suddenly felt it again before he was pulled forward by some massive unseen force; his body dematerializing past the walls of his room.

"Another mission?" Archer thought to himself.

The pull became stronger and he felt his 'essence' tumble as if from strong winds. The velocity increased and soon he felt as if he was going to be ripped to pieces by the turbulence. Something with the force of a boulder smashed into his chest and he began to fall end over end, desperately trying to steady himself.

"No... definitely not," he concluded. "Alaya's summon has never been this rough." Listening closely, he heard a voice past the roaring wind. It sounded feminine and oddly... familiar...

**_"I announce._**

**_Thy body shall be under my command, my fate shall be determined by thy sword._**

**_Follow the call of the Holy Grail. If thou wouldst obey this mind and this reason, then answer my call."_**

"Rin?" Archer said with surprise before he was finally pulled into the world.

_**- The Blade -**_

She felt a slight tug at her chest and she awakened. As she tried to find the source of the disturbance in this immaterial plane she felt her body hurled forwards through the white abyss. Confused, she tried to identify what was happening. Information flooded her mind as she fell; Dates, times, and knowledge about a world familiar yet different to her. Her mind grasped at the pieces of information and tried to understand what was happening. This was different from before; her summon was rougher.

A voice echoed through the void. It sounded self-assured and more than a little bit arrogant.

_"It's unlikely, but maybe you were the seventh one."_

_"Well, this is it for you even if that's the case."_

"Was that her... Master? No... that's wrong..." she thought.

Emotions ran through her mind, though not her own. She could feel her Master now, and he was in danger. She could feel his anger... anger at the world, at his lack of strength and ability to save himself.

Sorrow... He was saddened over a duty... no... a promise he could no longer fulfill. He had promised him he would become a Hero of Justice and save everyone. Even though his father had simply smiled at the notion, it was important to him.

Finally, he felt indignation at the world. Indignation over failing to fulfill an oath and duty to the people he wouldn't be able to save. It was an injustice she knew too well; one she had experienced herself.

Now she understood. She understood her Master's summon. Ceasing her resistance, she let the "winds" pull her to her destination. This was her second chance; she could put things right this time. Closing her eyes, she could feel radiant light surround her as she was summoned into the world.

* * *

_**- Paint the City Red -**_

Makoto Takahata had just finished her late shift at work and began the rather lengthy walk back towards her car. Humming along to her music, she failed to see the shadow that had been trailing her on the rooftop for the past several minutes. She did, however, notice when the streetlights around her dimmed and then died all at once; leaving her standing in pitch blackness. She removed the earbuds from her ears and looked around nervously while a sense of dread began to grow deep within the pit of her stomach. Turning around behind her, she stood face to face with a woman with eyes of crimson red.

"My... my... you're a pretty one," said the red-eyed woman mischievously. She bared a predator's smile, her twin razor-sharp fangs sticking past her lips.

The Makoto's scream was cut off as a strong arm covered her mouth. Two fangs pierced her neck and Makoto felt herself growing weak as her blood slowly drained out. She struggled for several moments before finally falling limp in her captor's hold. If there had been anyone around, they might have helped the senior Homurahara Academy student. As it was, the predator had chosen her victim well. There was no one around to hear her screams at this time of night.

"Mmm... you'll make for a fine thrall," muttered a voice in the shadows.

Silently, the body was dragged out of sight into the darkened alley nearby. Crimson eyes looked out into the silent Fuyuki streets before those too winked out of existence and into the darkness. Shinto's street lights flashed back on, revealing the empty street where Makoto had once stood. The only clues to her death lay on the road; her handbag and the dropped music player.

* * *

_**- The Agent -**_

Just beyond the noise and bright shining lights of Shinto lay a remote roadside diner next to one of the lesser travelled routes into Fuyuki. Owned by an elderly couple, the restaurant eked out a living from the carriers, truck drivers, transporters and other people that drifted by the secluded route. At this time of day, only three drivers sat at the counter, enjoying their coffee and meal. The light jingle of the door turned their attention and kept it there as the tall blonde woman walked towards one of the many vacant booths; walking straight past the shy orange haired waitress. Wearing simple jeans and a white t-shirt, she continued past the diner's two patrons with a simple suitcase in one hand and a backpack slung behind her shoulder. The two patrons continued to discreetly stare at her as she walked on by; her ponytail swaying behind her.

Secluded in one of the further corner booths, she set her belongings down and opened her suitcase, revealing her laptop. Waiting for her connection to Shin'i Headquarters to complete, she fished through her jeans before retrieving a package of cigarettes and grabbing the end of one of the smokes with her teeth.

Waving the waitress over, she surprised the young girl when she ordered a cup of coffee in Japanese; the girl stammering several times before nodding twice in confirmation. If she had to guess, the waitress whose tag showed the name "Hibino," was probably a poor college student looking to pay off her loans and tuition. The computer was still in the "authorization" stages by the time she received the warm mug of coffee. With apathetic movement, she grabbed the cup and took a sip, cigarette still held lazily between her lips, as she watched the communication program finish loading.

Finally, the screen switched to the Shin'i insignia and a voice spoke from the laptop's speakers.

"Good morning, Agent Sable. I take it you had a pleasant trip," said the voice over the line. Sable simply raised one of her eyebrows in response as she grinded the smoke over in her mouth; not even bothering to vocalize an answer.

"Good to see you're saving all your enthusiasm and energy for your assignment," the voice continued.

"You still haven't told me the specifics, sir," she replied..

"I told you, Sable, refer to me as Mike. In any case I've sent you the files." Numerous documents appeared on her screen as her team leader sent her a slew of papers.

"Not really much to do on this one," said the agent as she briefly perused the initial several pages.

"I know it's an assignment below your pay grade but headquarters wanted a senior member on this situation. With what's at stake, we can't afford to just sit back and just let the Church monitor by themselves; especially given what happened in the last war," said Mike.

"Yes... the Church did so well last time," she muttered.

The blonde-haired woman paged through the collection of photos that had been sent to her e-mail. Over 5 square miles had been scorched clean. Initial casualties figures were estimated to be over a thousand after the fire had finished running its course. A complete disaster for the Church and Magus Association. By all rights, the Grail should have been dismantled after the 4th war. However, the Holy Grail War was still a pet project of the Magus' Association and the Church was hesitant to intrude on the Magus Association's territory, especially since the Grail was not related to any activity from Dead Apostles. As such, despite the heavy loss of life, the two organisations had agreed to let the experiment continue on the seemingly unimportant island.

She chewed on the end of her cigarette as she read through another file. "So it's just a simple surveillance mission," said the agent.

"Indeed. There'll be no fighting on your part. Just make sure you get as much information as you can on the Masters. While we can't interfere, if something like the last war happens the Agency needs to have something to work with," replied Mike. "Besides, think of it like a vacation."

"With an 'all you can watch action and horror movie' smorgasbord," she said cynically behind her cigarette. She looked at the profile on the 4th Holy Grail War's Caster and her eye twitched. Over twenty-five children murdered in ways that would have upset even a veteran soldier's stomach.

She switched to another document. "And what about all this surveillance equipment you're sending me? I'm not a technical expert. You don't expect me to..."

"Of course not. We're sending another agent to help you with that. He'll be your partner for this assignment," the logo on her screen said.

"Oh?" she said with dull surprise. "Who is he and when will he be arriving?"

"Actually, he arrived in Fuyuki several days ahead of you," replied Mike. "As for who he is, I believe you'd remember your old partner?"

She heard the jingle of the door at the other end of the diner and looked up. Clad in a black suit that looked more at home at Wall Street than this tiny family diner, he stood tall over the other patrons. Making his way towards Sable, he halted as the waitress, Hibino, turned from refilling a cup of coffee and almost collided with him. Looking up, the reflection from his sunglasses made her slightly nervous and her own petite frame compared to his made her feel more than slightly intimidated. They stared at one another for a moment, her looking upward into the demure reflection of herself in his black sunglasses before he suddenly moved aside.

"Oh, sorry about that," he said politely with a slight nod of his head before moving to let her pass.

"Ah... Thank you," Hibino said nervously, not expecting his reaction. She moved past him towards her next customer.

Continuing on his way, he walked calmly towards the back booth. Sable simply stared wide eyed as he slowly made his way towards her before stopping at her seat.

"It's good to see you again, Agent Sable. It's been a while," said the man with a slight smile on his face. He took off his sunglasses and stored them into a side pocket. Sable let her unlit cigarette drop as her mouth opened in surprise and eyes widened in shock. "You should try the strawberry pancakes here, they're quite good."

"McNab?" she said in disbelief; as if he had simply transported into place.

"Last I checked," he said, looking himself over. He had just enough time to instinctively back away nervously before she pounced onto him.

"McNab-akun!" she said cheerfully before tackling him to the ground in a steel-bending hug and he groaned from the sheer force being exerted on his ribcage. "I thought you were dead! You idiot!" All heads turned in the diner to look at the commotion.

"Well... I was close enough to death... Sable... could you let go, I can't breath," said Agent McNab, trying and failing to maneuver his way out of her vice hug. "Uh? Sable?" He tried wiggling and tugging himself free for several moments before giving up, the blonde's head and arms firmly wrapped around his torso. He lay his head down on the floor in defeat.

Giving a sigh, he admired the beautiful wood ceiling before saying, "As my current superior officer, I'd like to note what you're doing is highly unprofessional."

"Duly noted," she said with a smile, ignoring him.

McNab watched the orange-haired waitress approached them, her height astoundingly tall from this particular vantage point. Failing to hide her smile of amusement behind the tray she held in front of her mouth, she said, "Uh... is there anything I can get for you or your... boyfriend there, Miss?" she said.

"I'm not her boyfriend..." he replied, squinting his eyes in annoyance towards her. "Although... could we get two orders of pancakes?"


	2. Deviation

**Author's Note: **I'm going through the required storyline here (and retracing steps if you were with from my old fic). Hopefully, you'll enjoy some of the alterations I've made to the F/SN plot. If you like the story, the forum Beast's Lair will have my most current work. As usual, comments and reviews welcome.

* * *

**_- Threads of Fate -_**  
**_- Chapter 1 -_**

**_Day 3: February 2nd_****  
****_- Deviation -_**

Shirou flew through the tiny shed's open doorway before landing on his back.

"Checkmate, kid. I guess this is how it ends," said the man in blue, his crimson spear pointed in front of Shirou's heart. Shirou lay on the cold wooden floor, his heart beating frantically in front of the spear's deadly tip.

"It's unlikely, but maybe you were the seventh Master. Well, this is it for you even if that's true. Goodbye, kid." said Lancer as he adjusted his grip. He lifted the spear back, readying the weapon to thrust forward.

They say time is relative. As he stared at the tip of the crimson spear, Shirou lived a lifetime in that single moment.

Images of the inferno 10 years ago seeped into his mind. The sky was painted bright orange and red from the flames that had engulfed the entire block. A fire so hot that each breath felt like you were skinning your own throat. He vividly remembered people walking down the streets with their heads in their hands. He wasn't aware at the time, but it had been to ease the pain upon their burnt faces. To him it had made them seem like the souls of the damned as they walked to the underworld. It was an image straight from Dante's Inferno. A catastrophe that took thousands of people's lives and yet he had been the only one saved.

So he had to live. He had to live so that those lives meant something.

Memories of his father came to him. On that final night on the porch, he promised Kiritsugu he would carry his ideal for him. He still remembered the sigh of relief Kiritsugu made before finally passing; he had seemed... happy. He still had a promise to keep.

His thoughts shifted back to the school this night. He had died this night and yet... he was given a second chance when he awoke alone in the dark school hallway. So why was this happening? So much had been sacrificed so he could live... so why was he going to die once again?

"This is bullshit! I reject this. I can't die like this," he thought. Anger bubbled and then exploded in him as he cried out.

"Damn it! I won't die here!" he screamed.

Blinding light filled the room. The radiant light blinded his sight even past his arm and shut eyes. A sudden roar of wind reached Shirou's ears and the lance that had been at his chest was battered aside with a sudden blow. The sound of metal on metal rang again in Shirou's ears and he heard Lancer gasp in surprise. Faced with a real threat, he heard Lancer leap back to gain space.

"So you're the seventh Servant?" Lancer asked.

When Shirou's eyes adjusted, he saw Lancer with doubt and uncertainty on his face. Between them was a girl dressed in regal blue wearing brilliant plate armor. With one quick motion, Lancer fled back outside.

Making sure to keep her guard towards the door, she looked at Shirou with her jewel-like eyes. At that moment, the clouds drifted past and pure white moonlight shone through the open door, highlighting her shining blond hair as if it were made of gold. The light reflecting off her pale skin and further heightened her elegant features.

He was speechless. The way she was dressed placed her as a warrior; yet he couldn't stop thinking of her as an angel. Such was her overwhelming beauty that his mind temporarily forgot the man still outside; about how close he had been to death mere moments ago. From the depths of his memories, an image of a woman in white glimpsed into his mind before disappearing.

She spoke, her voice soft yet stern, "Servant Saber, answering your summons. I ask of you, are you my Master?"

Caught by surprise at her question, he could only mutter, "huh... Mas... ter?"

Cocking an eyebrow in amusement, she smiled in amusement before giving a sigh.

"Truly, the world must have an odd sense of humor."

"Aack!" cried Shirou. An intense pain flared in his left hand as if it had been branded. As the pain slowly faded he could see an odd marking where it had hurt. He looked at the marking: two ornate blades, both pointed away from one another. Saber observed from her position across from him.

"It appears our contract is complete then. Wait here, Master, I shall deal with the enemy Servant outside," she said. Without another word she gracefully leaped out of the shed out towards the waiting enemy outside.

"Wait!" he shouted but she was already gone.

* * *

Shirou ran outside. In the yard sparks lit up the yard as the two servants met in battle. The man in blue, so confident and arrogant previously, was battling simply to maintain his ground, each attack of his met easily with the invisible weapon in her hands. Despite her petite frame, Saber was easily driving him back. After every parry, she advanced with a counterattack which pushed Lancer closer to the yard's walls. Lancer had lost the initiative; it was Saber now that was controlling the pace of the battle.

"Coward, show your weapon!" yelled Lancer as he thrust once more. More sparks showered the ground as she easily deflected his spear.

Blade met blade as their two weapons clashed at dazzling speeds. In the time it took for Shirou's brain to register even one of Lancer's attacks, Saber would have already deflected the crimson spear and lunged forward with an attack of her own.

Jumping back he swung his lance outward in a wide arc in the hopes of creating some breathing space. It didn't work. With a lightning dash Saber closed the distance and met Lancer's swing with a powerful slash that destroyed his guard. She brought her weapon down hard in the hopes of finishing this fight.

Twisting his body with inhuman speed, Lancer tossed himself to the side and cleared the blade's edge by a mere inch; her invisible blade impacting into the soft grass with enough force to embed itself deep within the ground.. Despite his great maneuver, the force of the swing was strong enough to tilt Lancers jump and disrupt the grace within his usual movement.

Unsure of this new enemy, Lancer withdrew rather than take advantage of the slight opening provided by her heavy swing. He widened the distance between the two of them and she withdrew her embedded weapon from the earth. Silence descended upon the yard as they stared at one another with their respective armaments at the ready. Her olive green eyes squinted and met Lancer's own as they waited patiently for the others movements. Both heroes breathed calmly despite the fierce skirmish mere moments ago. Time passed in uncomfortable silence as they watched one another. Only the sound of the soft wind could be heard tossing the bushes in the yard. With the moon out from the clouds, it was truly a cinematic scene.

"Are we to stare at one another until one of us dies of boredom?" said Saber, finally breaking the silence.

"I'll come for you yet," replied Lancer, "but let me ask you this first. Your Noble Phantasm, is it a sword?"

Saber chuckled softly, a grin on her face. "Surely the Servant of the lance would know a bow when he saw one?"

Lancer would have immediately brushed off this comment, however, he had just fought an Archer that had been wielding swords tonight. His face turned pale for a mere moment as he contemplated her words before breaking out in laughter.

"I like you, Servant Saber," he said with a wide grin, "which is why I'll ask you this before going on. Do you want to call it even?"

He motioned to Shirou near the house, "That Master of yours is an inexperienced fool and my Master just so happens to be a coward. Wouldn't you say it's in the best of our interests to hold off until we're both better prepared?" At the mention of her Master, Saber automatically took two steps to cover Shirou.

Lancer lowered his lance as if to indicate he didn't want to fight anymore. His body relaxed and the grip on the lance slacked.

Shirou's eyes, however, grew wide at that particular stance. It was the same one Lancer had before at the school. The finishing move. He had no idea what it may be but he had to warn Saber. He opened his mouth to shout a warning.

"I accept," she said.

Lowering her weapon she placed one of her hands on her hips and relaxed her stance.

"Hmph, I didn't think you'd actually take up my offer," said Lancer. "Perhaps you were truly afraid of being pierced by my lance?"

"Your agility with your weapon is indeed great, Lancer," she replied plainly, "but I knew a warrior that could wield two spear with better finesse and technique. You are a fine warrior, Lancer, but I have seen stronger and quicker men."

Lancer clucked his tongue. "Geh, I've never had the best of luck with women," he said with chagrin before leaping back on top of the wall and retreating back to the night.

Saber continued to look in the direction that Lancer had fled, as if in thought. Shirou slowly walked towards Saber and she softly turned her head towards him. Moments of silence passed by as Shirou tried to collect the swarm of thoughts and emotions that flew through his mind.

"Thank you..." said Shirou finally.

"It is a Servant's duty to protect their Master. There is no reason to thank me for what I have done, Shirou" replied Saber.

He recoiled slightly in surprise, "Wait, you know my name?"

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise before shrinking down. "Servants are given all the knowledge they require about this age before they are summoned. It is the reason I am able to converse with you during this Holy Grail War. Do you understand, Emiya Shirou?"

"I guess... But there's still so much I don't. You keep on talking about Servants, Masters and a war but this if the first time of heard of all of this," he said frankly.

"Hmm... I understand" she says in a polite tone. "You are not a formal Master, therefore it is obvious there would be gaps in your knowledge. I would suggest..."

Suddenly, her elegant demeanor changed. Focusing on a section of the yard's wall, she stopped talking and materialized her invisible weapon in her hand. Around her was an air of hostility. Before Shirou could ask what was wrong, Saber puts her hand up to quiet him.

"There are two enemies behind that wall. Judging by their aura, it shouldn't take more than several moments for me to defeat them. Please wait here, Shirou," she said. With that, Saber jumped high into the air, landed lightly on the yard wall and jumped behind it onto the streets.

"Enemies?" he thought. So enemies like that Servant Lancer... Which meant she would be fighting again. With that realization, Shirou bolted at full speed towards the front door. Having just enough presence of mind not to collide into the main door in haste, he unlocked the sliding door and looked outside.

The road was covered in darkness once again as the moon returned to its place behind the clouds. Looking around, he couldn't see Saber on the darkened streets anywhere. A sound of steel against steel caught his attention and he ran for its source. Rounding the corner, he saw Saber swing down towards a man in red.

* * *

For humans, a fight between Servants could be considered an act of beauty. Lancer's speed could dodge a storm of bullets. A Berserk could rampage through a city and tear it apart building by building with his bare hands. Such was the power of beings beyond the material plane of existence.

Which was why when Saber swung her invisible sword downward, only Archer noticed her odd behaviour. Saber was a determined and driven warrior. Her first attack had shattered Kanshou and Bakuya with one deft stroke. By the time he had recovered, the invisible sword was already pointed at his neck. To a normal human observer it would have appeared that Shirou's command spell had stopped her swing. But to a Servant, her attack was slow. Her attack had already begun to falter before Shirou cried for her to stop.

Invisible Air was held unwavering directly at his throat. The sword's fickle sheath wavered to and fro like an unending layer of ice over water. Diverting his gaze from the death that was so close to his neck, he looked at Saber.

She was smiling.

It wasn't the face of a Servant ready to defeat her opponent. Rather, it looked more like she was seeing an old friend; friendly and warm.

All at once, a memory came to the forefront of his mind. He was on his back just like now in the Dojo. They had been training hard all morning. He had tried to take advantage of an opening left by Saber and swung his Shinai. Of course, she was quicker and had swiftly knocked him onto his back on the wooden floor. Saber, with her shinai pointed at his throat, looked down at him. In the soft sunlight of the afternoon, Saber made a smile and offering her hand to him. He remembered the soft touch of the . After this, he would decide to make a simple western meal for lunch.

"Shirou, it is noon. Should we not have lunch?" asked the Saber in the Dojo. "Hunger is the enemy, after all, Shirou."

He remembered this image from long ago; when he'd still held his ideal dear. These were memories he'd thought faded and vanished with the naive boy he'd once been. The memory disappeared from his mind, but Saber remained; still smiling towards him.

"What..?" said Archer in a daze confusion. For the first time in his recent memory, he was speechless.

Seemingly satisfied with Archer's confused reaction, she turned her attention back to Shirou.

"Are you daft, Shirou? We could have defeated Archer and his Master here if you hadn't stopped me. Retract your order." said Saber. The earlier warm feeling Archer had felt from Saber was gone; hidden under her iron mask.

"Just what was going on here," thought Archer. Something was definitely wrong with the war this time. Inching himself back, he returned to Rin's side.

"Are you alright, Archer?" Rin whispered. He responded with a curt nod. As he and Rin watched, Saber and Shirou argued back and forth. The pair fought like an angry couple while he and Rin watched awkwardly on the sidelines; apparently forgotten in the heat of argument. Just when it looked like they would both come to a head...

"Perhaps I can help, Emiya-kun" said Rin. The Master and Servant both turned simultaneously to look at her.

"Tohsaka... Rin?" he said, stepping closer to get a better look. Rin stepped forward into the light of a streetlamp.

"That's right, Emiya-kun," Rin said with a grin, "You mentioned you're an amateur Magus, right? Since you spared my Servant and my life, I'll help explain everything about the Holy Grail War to you. After all, it's the least I can do. We'll see where we go from there. Does that sound fine to the both of you?"

Shirou and Saber gave their assent by nodding. However, Saber's invisible weapon was still raised in the air pointing at Archer. Her eyes were cold steel as she looked at him.

"Very well," said Rin, "Archer could you turn yourself into spirit form for a while? Saber won't lower her guard while you're still here."

He complied and disappeared. Floating to the top of the Emiya household, he reappeared and took up a familiar spot from long ago; one that gave the best view of the surrounding neighborhood. He took up his overwatch position on the tip of the roof and looked out at the twinkling of home lights in Miyama. As the group walked in to the Emiya residence, Saber glanced upwards. At the edge of her mouth, the slightest of muscle twitches gave away her well concealed grin right before she disappeared into the building.

Watching the house perimeter, he mulled over the events of tonight. There was definitely a difference in this war. Of course, there would always be unknown variables in war... Each a calculated risk. However, in every calculation Servant Saber had been a constant. This definetly through his plans out the window.

"This war is off to a very interesting start," he thought.

* * *

Their walk to the church had been eventless minus bypassing a drunk couple on the way to towards the bridge. When Archer thought about it, it was odd how the sloshed blonde had been wearing or how her tall partner had been wearing sunglasses at night... However, he pushed those thoughts aside. There was a certain small warrior that was giving him a larger headache.

Archer waited in spirit form as Rin and Shirou headed off towards the church on the hill. After Rin had explained the initial rules, they had headed to meet Kotomine and explain the rest of the Holy Grail War to Shirou. Now, all there was left to do was wait until the two Masters returned.

Saber, ever the patient guardian, stood like a stone statue looking in the direction of the church. Moments passed as the only sound of gently rustling leaves in the wind. He looked over at the Knight of the Sword on his right. She was different from the Saber he knew. His Saber would have given no quarter nor spared an enemy such as him nor shown any emotion other than her intent to kill. She certainly wouldn't have spared him voluntarily like she had.

Yet... he couldn't ignore the facts right in front of him. Staring at her with his reinforced eyes, he could see every one of her beautiful features. Her golden hair shining in the moonlight, not a single strand out of place from what he remembered. Her olive green eyes. Her soft pale skin. The way she held herself in that dignified pose even with the ridiculous banana yellow raincoat over her petite form. This was definitely his Saber.

"Enjoying what you are seeing, Archer?" said Saber as she grinned mischievously in his direction.

He materialized with his arms crossed in annoyance; exhaling a sigh of annoyance. This Saber truly was an odd one.

"Just who exactly are you?" he said. Like seeing Rin turning into a shy computer nerd or Shirou... not acting like some selfless idiot, this different Saber irked him; if only because he was used to being the one holding all the cards.

"Hmm?" said Saber. She turned her head towards him, a devious smile on her face. Archer knew that look on Saber's face; it reminded him of a lion looking at a wounded gazelle. He recognized another predator on the hunt when he saw one.

"My identity is between me and my Master to keep. Surely it is the same between you and Rin, Archer," replied Saber as she widened her grin into a smile.

"How did she...? No... Just no. That was impossible. His paranoia was getting the better of him. The only person that had heard that conversation was himself and Rin. It's probably just a coincidence she was saying that," he thought, trying and failing to convince himself. He sighed again.

Akasha help him, she was driving him insane.

"You are a very peculiar Servant, Saber," replied Archer. His face remained emotionless and concealed the surprise from her previous comment.

"Oh?" said Saber, "In comparison to what, Servant Archer? Is there another Saber you've met to compare? Perhaps in a previous war? Perhaps you fought in the last war?" she said. Her voice stayed stern but the smile she had been sporting had turned into a smirk. "If our Masters ally together, Archer, I expect you to share that information with us. It could be important."

She was teasing him... Watching just how far she could push him. Archer's face twitched. Veins bulged in his forehead. He was going to die. His attempts at restraining himself from strangling Saber would cause him to have a brain aneurysm. He would be the very first Servant to die from annoyance. His once chance at peace ruined because of this Saber!

Calming himself down, the one single burning question returned to his mind.

"Who was she!?"

To preserve his own sanity, he returned to spirit form. Saber returned her attention to the Church and both Servants remained silent. Saber maintained her watch over the church as Archer mulled over the events of the evening.


	3. First Blood

**Author Notes:** Hmm, not completely satisfied with this chapter as its still in my older form of writing with less detail/completion than I'ed like. Bleh. As usual, feel free to bring up any problems to me in reviews.

* * *

_**Definitions: **_

**Ojōsan** - Lady/Ma'am

* * *

_**- Threads of Fate -  
- Chapter 2 -**_

_**- First Blood -**_  
_**Day 3: February 2nd**_

The nighttime streets were Shirou walked silently with Saber as the sound of his shoes and her metallic gauntlets echoed in the quiet night. There really hadn't been much to say after Saber's outburst against his choice in coat fashion, which was why when Saber spoke it caught Shirou off guard.

"So... Shirou, what do you think of Rin?" asked Saber.

Shirou's brain froze at the surprise attack and had to reboot from the trauma. To any other regular person, they would have planned out their response in an organised structured format. In Shirou's case, he simply said the first thing that came to his mind.

"Well, she's not as magnificent as I thought she'd be. err... I mean she's not quite how I imagined her. Err... I mean she's physically the same as I imagined but different from what Iknewofher. Uhh,letmeexplain. She'snormallydifferentinschool..."

Because Shirou was too preoccupied digging himself a larger and wider grave, he missed the mischievous smile Saber had failed to suppress on her face. Hoping to put an end to his babbling, she placed both gauntlets on her hips and said. "I meant as a fellow Master, Shirou."

Shirou's face went red enough to rival a tomato before he took a breath to collect himself. "Uh... From everything she's told me today, she seems like a very experienced Magus. It seems like she's been preparing for the war for quite some time so she could be quite a formidable Master in the war. I could see her being a strong Magus in the future."

"I see..." said Saber in thought. He wanted to ask her own thoughts on Rin, but stopped when Saber jerked her head to the front.

Standing atop the hill before them was a towering behemoth. Without even asking, he could tell this thing was the same thing as Saber or Archer; a Servant. Its skin was the unnatural color of lead with every single inch of its body filled to the brim with rock hard muscles. He could imagine the giant shattering boulders between his biceps. He didn't even have to guess, the only class this servant could be was Berserker.

Standing beside the behemoth was the girl he'd seen two days ago. Wearing a purple winter coat with hair like pure snow, her rather small stature clashed with the great monster beside her. If he had to guess, she would have been five years his junior... Could she really be that behemoth's Master?

"Ah, you're done talking?" said the small girl. Fear gripped Shirou's stomach and stopped him from responding.

"Good evening, Onii-chan. It's the second time we've met like this," said the girl with a cheerful smile. Lifting up the sides of her coat, she does a small curtsy. "Let me introduce myself. I am Ilya von Einzbern."

"Anyways, now that introductions are done, we can start. Go ahead, Berserker. Kill them," she said, in that same sing-song like tone.

Berserker screamed an inhuman roar. Bending his knees downwards, he launched himself high into the air. At the apex of the arc, he lifted the massive stone sword high above his head for a mighty swing.

"Shirou! Get away!" yelled Saber. The petite warrior tossed the coat away, letting the wind take it into the darkness of the night. Tightening her grip on the invisible sword, she leapt and met Berserker in the air.

Air compressed and exploded outwards as the two warriors traded their first blow. Trees limbs were bent back, cars shuddered and windows vibrated from the shockwave. Shirou himself was forced several step backs and he was forced to shield his eyes from the blast. When he could open his eyes again, he saw Saber flying backwards.

Saber crashed backwards, not even her great strength could stand against this beast. Tucking herself into a ball, she rolled along the asphalt before stopping her roll in a three-point stance. She looked up from the ground and Shirou saw a fierce determination in her eyes. Even against a mighty beast like this Saber refused to show any fear. Gripping both gauntlets back on the sword, she launched herself at the great Servant once more.

Metal met stone as the two Servants continued their battle. Each clash of their weapons sent out miniature blasts that he felt even at this distance. However, Shirou could tell even with Saber's skill she could not win this. Each of Berserker's attacks were easily driving her back. Despite her own agility, Saber was stuck on the defensive. The easiest way to describe Berserker would be a lightning fast whirlwind of death. Cars and lampposts were cleaved in twain where his stone sword struck. Saber was using her invisible sword to deflect the multitude of blows but not matter how many attacks she blocked she wouldn't be able to pierce the barrage of attacks and stop Berserker.

Yet even with such disparity in power, she still kept fighting.

Shirou gripped his own hands tightly enough that he thought they might be red with blood. Instead of the fear any normal person should have felt, Shirou could only felt anger. A boiling anger at his own inaptitude. This was wrong... He had promised himself that he would help Saber win the war, and yet all he could do was stand here and watch.

Berserker struck once again and shattered Saber's guard. As he raised his stone sword to strike Saber down, over a dozen bolts of blue energy struck Berserker in the back. No, wait... It would be more accurate to describe them as fireballs. Each one detonated with the strength of a hand grenade that exploded with enough force to shake the ground and caused him to reel backwards.

"Tohsaka?" said Shirou. He looked hopefully in the direction where the spell had been cast but saw only darkness. Whoever had casted the spell must have been content to hide in the darkness and watch.

The smoke slowly cleared and revealed Berserker standing unscathed amongst the flames. The powerful spell had failed to even wound the Servant. However, it had allowed Saber to deftly propel herself backwards and gain some breathing space.

"Ignore that weak attack! Kill Saber first, Berserker!" commanded Ilya.

Listening to Ilya, Berserker continued his unrelenting charge towards Saber.

Racing at full speed away from Berserker, Saber used her momentum to race up the side of a house wall and then propelled herself backwards. Jumping above even the tall giant, she swung downward. Berserker responded by swinging his stone sword in a backward arc, Berserker swatted Saber backwards into the air. She landed; in between Berserker and Ilya. Bolting forwards the moment she touched the ground, Saber used all her strength to close the distance between her and Berserker's small master.

Shirou understood. Berserker was Saber's superior in every way. The only way to win... no, to even survive would be to change the conditions of the battle. If you couldn't fight a powerful enemy one on one then you would have to take out the physically weaker master. So why did it feel like there was a hole in his chest when he imagined Ilya being slashed by Saber? Was this truly the only way?

The monstrous Servant barreled after Saber. He didn't know if it was possible, but Berserker seemed even madder than before. However, even with all his anger and strength, it was clear the mighty Servant wouldn't be able to catch up with Saber. Running from the impending doom behind her, Saber raised her sword and gave a roaring scream as she swung with her invisible sword. The small albino girl raised her hands in fear.

"Berserker! Help!" Ilya screamed.

And then Berserker materialized in front of Ilya; his stone sword at the ready.

"Ahh, of course. The command spell. I completely forgot about that," thought Shirou dimly.

Saber's eyes widened almost to the size of monocles at the sudden teleportation. Unable to block Berserker's blow, she took the attack straight on and was thrown like a puppet down the street. A sickening thud reached Shirou's ears. A streak of crimson marked where Saber landed before grinding to a halt.

"Saber!" screamed Shirou.

He ran. With all the strength in his legs and will in his heart he ran towards the wounded knight on the ground.

He slid the last several meters on his knees before cradling her head with his arms. He could see her breath was ragged and her half-closed eyes were vacant; still recovering from the earth shattering blow. He glanced downward toward her wound. What had once been immaculate shining armor was now shredded and shattered metal. Blood leaked continuously from her grave wound as she struggled to keep her breathing through the pain. Unable to do anything else, he took off his sweater and pressed it against the wound to staunch the blood. It wasn't much, but it was all he could do.

With nothing to stop him, Berserker advanced with impunity towards them.

A stream of blue flames launched from the darkness and impacted Berserkers chest. The fire completely enveloped Berserker's torso before flowing past him. On the brick wall behind him, bleed off from the heat was enough to sear the wall until the brick and mortar began to drip from the immense heat. The lead-skinned servant screamed in pain from the magical attack, yet remained standing. Even as the stream of fire withered and died, he stood tall. Fire that would have melted through steel plating simply slid against the Servant's lead colored skin.

As the fire finally faded, he could see the spell wasn't completely ineffective. Sections of Berserker's skin had been melted and peeled away to reveal the flesh and muscle. However, it was clear the Servant was still ready to kill at Ilyas command.

With the attack's failure, a shade retreated between two houses. Shirou caught a brief glimpse of a crimson and black cloak before the person vanished back to the shadows.

Ilya gave off an innocent child-like laugh that could have sent chills up even Lancer's spine. "Whoever you are, that was a good try; but your attacks are futile. There's no way to defeat my Berserker," said Ilya, "after all, he is the strongest hero of Greece. Hercules."

"Hercules" said Shirou; whispering the name in awe and fear. Beneath him, he could feel Saber stirring.

"Shirou?" said Saber weakly. Saber's eyes finally refocused and she grimaced from her wound. Grabbing a hold of her sword, she unsteadily tried to rise to her knees.

"Saber, you have to run, I'll hold Berserker back," said Shirou with more confidence than he felt. He knew it was a stupid statement the moment he said it. However, the alternative was to let Saber continue battling. In her current condition, it couldn't even be called a fight. But much more than that, he just didn't want to see her get hurt. Her face shouldn't have to bear such pain.

Helping her up to her feet, Saber pushed him away with her remaining strength.

"Idiot! How do you think you're going to be able to fight a Serva... Argh," Saber collapsed back to her knees before she could finish the sentence. It was evident even to a him that she was wounded really bad. If she couldn't even stand then there was no way she could walk, let alone fight.

"Anyways," said Ilya growing impatient, "it was rude of you to attack me instead of facing my Berserker, Saber, so I think I'll have him kill you first. Then we'll deal with your troublesome friend. Berserker, be sure to dismember her after cutting off her head."

Hearing her command, Berserker charged towards Saber. Still struggling to stand, she tried to raise her sword against Berserker.

Shirou ran with all his strength to Saber. Perhaps it was because he hadn't been able to do anything to help her up until now. So at the very least, he might be able to do this small thing and protect her for these few seconds.

The sickening sound of torn flesh and meat met his ears as he felt his body fly through the air.

Something had sent him careening away and knocked him to the ground... Landing on the ground, he tried to breath but found out he couldn't. He looked downwards towards his feet. His blood, parts of organs and most of his stomach were now strewn on the asphalt. Oddly... He couldn't feel anything. In the back of his mind he realized that must have been the shock setting in.

Several feet away was Saber; her face an expression of complete surprise and... sadness? She was saying something to him but his ears couldn't hear her.

He coughed up more blood. He only wanted to knock Saber out of Berserker's attack. He couldn't even do that right... How silly... Instead, he just shielded her body with his own.

As his vision vanished and his consciousness faded, he realized that this was the end for Emiya Shirou. His final thought burned in his mind until that faded too.

Was he really just that useless? Can't he even save one person?

* * *

"What..." said Ilya barely above a whisper; her eyes wide in amazement.

Berserker, not being given any new orders, returned his focus on his original target and advanced upon Saber's vulnerable form.

Then, a voice pierced the night like a command from God.

"Enough! This ends now! INDIGNATION!" came a voice from the shadows.

Giant ethereal runes glowed and surrounded Beserker before a single massive thunderbolt struck the great warrior in the center chest. Lightning whirled around the Hero of Greece as if it were a windstorm. Electrical arcs shattered and discharged on the ground around him, each one powerful enough send asphalt and debris into the air. Finally, the spell's accumulated power erupted and Berserker's body exploded in a shower of gore. Dozens of tendrils of lightning arced from his back to the ground. With his entire backside blow open and his organs splattered piece by piece onto the ground, Berserker collapsed onto the ground dead.

"Not even the Greatest Hero of Greece can deny his father's power" said the caster.

The voice came from a hooded figure standing on a nearby roof. Her tall figure was silhouetted against the moonlight. Wearing a broad black cloak, her hood covered all her facial features leaving only her mouth visible in the moonlight.

"Ah, so you've finally shown yourself, Caster, " said Ilya before introducing herself. She finished by bowing against her new enemy. Caster stood silently, her gloved hands stayed rested at her sides staring at the small girl.

"Your spells are strong, Caster, but you'll need more than that to defeat my Berserker," said Ilya confidently as she did a small pirouette.

Even as she spoke, the blood that had been sprayed all across the street was beginning to reform back towards Berserker's destroyed body. His flesh began to re-knit itself and his organs began to regenerate. Soon, all evidence of the damage from before would disappear. Berserker rose up with a guttural groan; ready to unleash another whirlwind of destruction.

"A curious ability your Berserker has, Ilyasviel von Einzebern. You are indeed correct, I would need more to defeat your servant. However, Master of Berserker, not even your Berserker could stand up against the power of three other servants" said Caster.

"Three?" replied Ilya in confusion. Caster formed four Black Keys and embedded them into corner concrete sidewalk next to the truck Rin was hiding behind. The twin tailed Magus tumbled backwards from the sudden attack and ended up standing in the middle of the street. Archer materialized behind his clumsy master, trying to suppress a sigh.

Berserker, his body still smoking and charred from its first death, returned to Ilya's side. All around them was destruction. Trees and lampposts were torn in half, cars were destroyed, and sections of the road had gaping holes from Berserker's furious blows. The place was a complete battlefield.

She grimaced in pain as she pulled herself up with her sword. Blood still oozing from her horrific wounds, she stood in an act of defiance against the giant servant. Her crimson stained gauntlets gripped her wind-sheathed sword and she once again took on a combat stance. Although her breathing was ragged and her wound bled profusely, Saber's grip upon her blade never wavered. The knight's intention was clear; if Berserker came towards them again she would make sure he paid for it.

Looking at Caster, Ilya made an unhappy face at her before turning away. "I'm bored again, Berserker, take me home," she said before jumping onto Berserker's shoulder, "you're annoying, Caster. The next time we meet, I'll kill you for certain." With those final words, Ilya left the battlefield on her servants shoulder.

* * *

With the looming giant gone, Caster hopped from her perch on the roof and gently floated down in front of Saber. Caster walked towards the wounded Servant and Saber shouted in pain as she pulled the invisible blade from the ground. The knight grunted and tried in vain to force herself back into a fighting stance, but only succeeded in collapsing to her knees once again. It was apparent to even the casual observer that she was in no shape to fight another servant. Caster gently raised her hand in a gentle halting moment.

"Now really, Saber," said Caster in an insulted tone, "if I wanted to kill your Master I would have let Berserker finish him. He's in a bad state right now. Help me help him."

Continuing to walk past the bloody servant, she knelt at Shirou's side. She tossed aside one of her dark tresses to see him better before wiping the perspiration from the boy's brow. She could see breath was shallow and his heart rate beat like a jackhammer. Strewn about the road were the remains of his intestines and other internal organs Berserker had removed from his strike. There was a gaping hole so wide on the side of Shirou's abdomen that she was amazed he hadn't been severed in half.

"Damn fool" said Caster before giving a gentle sigh, "most people only die once a night."

Putting her hand to his bloody wound she muttered a long incantation and her hand lit up with a light green hue. Sweat dripped from her face as she focused intently upon her spell. As she spoke, his body began to regenerate and repair itself. Blood returned to his body and his wounds sewed themself back together. Finishing the incantation, she slouched down towards the ground from obvious fatigue. The wound was far from completely healed; however, with proper treatment, he'd live.

She gave a tired She looked at the blood upon her hands and an image of the past flashed to her mind.

The sky was pouring. The ground she was kneeling on was stained with fresh blood. Her victim lay dead on the ground covered in red. Realizing what she had done, she gave off a terrible wail that echoed into the night. As she cried, the night rain mixed with blood and flowed into the nearby gutter; washing away the sins of her crime. She forcibly pushed the nightmare to the back of her mind. That was no longer important. Shaking her head to clear the memories away, she turned her attention back to Shirou.

As if she were a mother treating a wounded child, she tenderly wiped the fresh sheen of sweat off his face. Checking over him, she found his pulse and breathing returning to normal. If Saber had been closer, she might have seen the look of relief on Caster's face.

"That'll have to be enough," she muttered. "Hang in there, kid. I need you to live." She affectionately cupped the side of his face before laying his head gently on the pavement.

Caster looked back at Saber and saw her finally standing with her own strength, the bleeding from her wound already beginning to stanch. Curiously enough, even standing, Saber was barely taller than the kneeling Caster.

Saber narrowed her eyes at Caster when she looked up. Despite the aid she had given to Shirou, Saber grip never left her blade and, although her sword was lowered, Caster recognized the aggressive stance the knight had taken. If she made any threatening gesture towards Shirou, she knew the knight of the sword would be upon her. Still, the mere fact Saber stayed her blade against an unknown servant meant she had earned at least some trust.

"Why are you doing this?" said Saber.

Caster shrugged. "Does there have to be a reason to help someone in need?" she said dismissively.

Saber continued to look at Caster with cold eyes.

Caster gave a huff. "Fine," she said with resignation, "you might say your Master saved my life. I was only naturally returning the favor. Don't expect this service to be infinite."

"Saved your life?" said Saber, tilting her head in interest. Her voice was still cold but her curiosity dimming the fires of her suspicion.

She nodded. "Although, that story will have to be for another time" she said.

Rin and Archer watched silently as Caster stood back to her feet and faced the duo. The terrain before them had been shattered and cracked with the results of the recent battle. The old asphalt road had been utterly torn and sundered from Berserker's repeated strikes into the ground, revealing the bare earth underneath. Debris like battered cars, felled trees and lamp posts littered the road.

"So what will you do now, Archer's Master" said Caster. She crossed her arm and her mouth twitched in annoyance at facing the two.

Archer stood facing her, his expression was stoic as usual.

"You are a Servant in the Holy Grail War," responded Rin. Her statement was obvious yet clear. There could only be one winner in this war and Caster was just another opponent. Adding to that fact was her Archer was fresh to the fight while Caster had already used her prana against Berserker. It only made sense to fight Caster here.

"Indeed," said Caster, "yet you would let your dear friend die?" Pointing with her fingerless-gloves, she motioned to the unconscious form of Shirou behind her. "If your Archer fights me, I will guarantee he dies before the night ends."

"Oh?," said Rin, her voice like stone," and what makes you think I care? Especially for an enemy Master?"

Caster's lips turned into an evil grin. A grin that would have sent shivers down the spine of even the most hardy of men. "Is that so, Master of Archer?" she said in a mocking tone, "very well, in that case, you won't mind if I remove one of your enemies now." With a quick flick of her wrist, a ball of crimson fire formed in her right arm. Whirling her cape behind her, she thrust the mass of fire towards Shirou's head.

"Caster!" screamed Saber as she brought her invisible sword to bear.

"Stop!" cried Rin.

Caster halted. The orb of fire disappeared from her hand. Looking up, she saw Rin with her hand reached out as if to stop her. Though she may have hid it well, Caster saw the fear in the twin-tailed Magus' eyes. That brought a genuine smile to her lips. There might be hope for that girl yet.

Caster emitted a sinister laugh. "How romantic," she said with amusement, "the little Magus is in love with another Master." Satisfied with Rin's reaction, she deftly jumped into the air before landing on the same building as she had arrived from.

"You stupid Servant, that's not it at all!" Rin screamed at her. Veins popped in annoyance as she shook her hand in anger at the cloaked servant.

Rin's outburst, however, only caused Caster to break out into further mocking laughter. "You should watch where you go lovey-dovey with your emotions, you never know who might be scrying on you. In either case, I'll leave him in your care then, Master of Archer," she shouted. Cheerfully waving goodbye to Rin, she leapt from building to building before disappearing into the distance.

As they watched Caster fade into the distance, Archer sighed. "My... you truly are a difficult Master, Rin" he said.

"Archer, shut... up..." she replied. His Master's trembling fists warned Archer that he should probably keep quiet lest Rin use up another command seal on him.

* * *

_**Day 4: February 4th  
- The Third Party -**_

Standing on the roof of one of Shinto's high rise buildings, a shadowy figure stood observing the situation. Dressed in his usual business suit attire, Agent McNab looked through the lenses of his binoculars at the aftermath of the battle.

"Bloody hell, what a mess below. Construction crews will be in for one long day tomorrow. Looks like you were right, though. It appears Master Tohsaka her servant Archer will be taking care of the other two for the night, Ojōsan."

"Stop calling me that! I told you to call me Kitsune-kun when I'm talking to you," said Sable. The drunk girl giggled before collapsing onto the leather sofa back at their base. She hic'ed several times before dropping the phone.

McNab masked the receiver for his earpiece with his hand before giving a long drawn out sigh. He idly drummed his thumbs along the metal railing as he waited patiently on the line while the blonde fumbled with the phone. Several moments later, Sable finally held the phone upright and continued their conversation as if nothing had happened.

"Besides, McNaba-kun, everything'll be fine. Now stop worrying and come back here," said the intoxicated blond as she slurred her words over the phone, "it's no fun being drunk alone."

"Ojōsan, the Agency's goal is to monitor the war. Meaning we don't relax… at least until I've got our observation posts around the city up and running. I'm also willing to forgive you for having several drinks too many in order to maintain our cover," he said. Despite his partner's dubious behaviour, he still maintained his respectful neutral tone. On the empty streets below, he watched as Archer followed Tohsaka as he carried Shirou within his arms.

"Besides," said Mcnab, "There are other issues at play tonight. I'll be back in several hours so try to get some restful sleep. Good night, Ojōsan."

* * *

"Whadaya mean?" she said. However, she found she was already talking to a dead phone. She grumbled to herself over his restless behaviour. It was barely the Third day of the war. There wouldn't even be anything to worry about till days later.

Yawning tiredly, she stumbled around the safe house until she ended up in the kitchen. The house was located in the Miyama section of Fuyuki and made a handy base when their business took them out of Shinto proper. Scrounging a sandwich labelled "McNab" from the fridge, she began munching down. Taking a seat at the main table, she looked at the large amount of folders, newspaper clippings and documents arrayed in an organised manner. McNab had helped her into the living room when they entered so she hadn't entered the kitchen before now.

"Odd," she thought, "I don't recall these being here before."

Plopping the sandwich plate on top of a photo of a flayed corpse, she sat down and shuffled through the notes and reports on the top folder. The notes detailed the recent deaths and unusual events in the city. He had categorized them by people and causes.

The victims of bizarre gas leaks and chemical spills were attributed to the Caster of this war. Oddly, there were no deaths in that category. He had noted the victims had only received minor symptoms like dizziness, heavy nausea and extreme fatigue. Nothing several days of rest wouldn't cure. The most names were listed in this category.

Under "Servants" were deaths inflicted by slashing or piercing weapons. Each name was referenced to a photo of a bloodied and slashed corpses. Under this heading were a dozen or so names. Minor in comparison to the other two categories.

Finally, there was a heavy folder for the last category. Its category was "Unknown". She leafed through the files. Dozens of case reports, probably stolen from the Fuyuki police department, of missing individuals in Fuyuki and other nearby prefectures.

She rubbed her frazzled hair in annoyance, "couldn't you have just copied them?" she muttered to the empty kitchen. She read the names: Hohki Ai, Hotate Yumiko, Ichikawa Misato, Higashikuni Kageyasu, Tsukasa Rkuemon, Kuroi Sadako, Ogata Izumi, Shinozaki Konata, Shiotani Ichi, Ishimura Yakamochi, Itami Senzo, Kuroki Izo... The list continued on.

Each of them were listed as missing. The earliest was dated from last month but there was an increasing amount starting at the beginning of the Holy Grail War. She flipped the page and was met with the gruesome sight of an empty husk. Its skin was dried like paper and its shrunken mouth revealed the victims teeth as if it were a grim smile. Her stomach turned at the sight and she pushed the sandwich aside. On the corpses' neck was a great gouging wounds on the upper neck. The police report mentioned how the victim had had all the blood in their body drained. This jolted her from her drunken stupor. How had she missed something as big as this?

She flipped through the remaining case reports. There were twelve other cases of these vampire-type victims and they were all within the last week. Closing the case files, she looked at the large map of Fuyuki pasted on the wall. There were three different colored pins denoting different murders or events. The ones with vampire victims were all centered in Shinto.

She crumpled her eyebrows in annoyance. "That fool is going to get himself killed," she thought, while reaching for the phone once more.

* * *

__  
_- White -_

_She coughed and shivered in the evening air, from the lack of energy or cold she wasn't sure. She felt tired... too tired to even move. Collapsing against the cold stone. she let herself rest. Before her eyes slid shuts she saw a black silhouette approach her._

_"Uh... Hey. Are you alright?" the voice said._

_It would get no response._


	4. Supplemental Material - The Dead

**Author's Notes:** Original, this had black text to denote censoring by the Shin'i Agency. However, fanficdotnet doesn't really support that so I've provided a toned down version of it. Also, if you noticed weird error in the previous chapters, it's because ffdotnet enjoys eating my formatting alive. They should be fixed now.

This chapter is mostly for those of you that haven't read Tsukihime or know what The Dead are.

* * *

_**Supplemental Material - The Dead**_

* * *

A82  
From: Agent W***  
To: Agent M****  
Date: 2010/01/28  
Subject: Re: Dead Apostles and The Dead

Yo, how're you doing N**? S**** hasn't been driving you too mad on her little errands has she? Anyways, like you wanted, here's an intro on Dead Apostles and their "followers". I know you haven't had that much experience with these folk so I tried to keep it to the point. Just whatever you do, don't let your guard down. Some of these bloody sucking bastards have lived for over a century. You don't live that long while getting hunted by the Burial Agency by being sloppy. Trust me on this, I've seen them in action and they're no slouch. Hell, I remember one time this nice Church lady called ****d had to help me out when I was in a bind. Dunno how she did it but she could create and throw these mini swords outta thin air. Anyway, any undead or vampire that was impaled by them were immolated and burnt to a crisp. That doesn't even get into the part where she wielded this giant staking weapon one handed. Musta weighed at least a tonne. Gotta say that Church has some pretty powerful people on their side.

Anyways, I'm ramblin on. Just remember to watch yourself and good luck. Make sure S**** doesn't drive you too mad.

**The Dead**

The Dead are familiars bound to the will of their parent Vampire (also known as Dead Apostles). Having no true will of their own, they move under their master's will and consume the blood and flesh of the living in order to maintain their existence and syphon energy to their Master. Talk about laziness. Anyways, they're most easily identified by looking like a walking corpse. Sometimes they may have illusions around them to hide themselves during the day, although, I doubt you'll be hunting any of these guys while the sun shines. These familiars are what you might consider a classic in supernatural mythology. However, they've actually fallen out of use. You'll mostly encounter them in low numbers of less than several dozen in total. That is unless the vampire has already turned the entire city and the area is overflowing with corpses. Of course, in that case you'll probably be meeting an army of Executors and other Church agents as they proceed to clean and re-decorate the area.

Don't worry though. Vampires prefer to keep themselves hidden and having an army of corpses followin 'em around like that would defeat the purpose. A vampire that reveals itself too much often dies within a short period of time. Most of the time the instant any mention of the Dead is found the Burial Agency sends out Executors to hunt said offending vampire. After that, the jigs up and the vampire either dies or runs to another city.

If you do wind up fighting these undead you shouldn't let your guard down though. These creatures ain't mere corpses. They're kept alive by the power of their vampire and whatever unfortunate humans they get their ruddy hands on. This means they're actually several times stronger than your normal humans and almost as persistent. I've seen Dead break through steel doors as if they were made of plaster and dent a knight's shield with its fingers alone; although in retrospect they probably broke their arms and all their fingers doing that. Anyways, whatever you do, make sure you watch your surroundings and make sure you always have a way out. As long as you have an exit, you can always run away faster than they can chase.

Also, since they're essentially kept alive by "magic" that means their more durable then your regular humans. If you stab 'em a dozen times they'll still keep commin at you. Think of these guys as if they were robots. Heavy trauma to the torso or severing of limbs will net you the good results. However, the most surefire way of keeping 'em down is the destruction of their main body or head (Read: cleave and blow them apart) or the use of the Church's conceptual armaments (Read: Holy weapons).

The Dead actually have an interesting history. Many people in the Church believe...

*The remaining pages ramble off onto unrelated tangents from Agent W***'s mind*

* * *

A82

From: Agent M****  
To: Agent W***  
Date: 2010/01/28  
Subject: Re: Re: Dead Apostles and The Dead

Thanks for the information, Wash. I do have to ask, however, is it completely necessary for you to translate your accent into print?

Regards,

M****, A****  
Shin'ai Southern Region, Hyōgo Prefecture  
(XXX) - XXX - XXXX


	5. Complications

**Author's Notes:** It appears my attempts to add links to the previous chapters has failed due to 's policy. Bleh, how annoying.

* * *

**- Threads of Fate -  
- Chapter 3 -**

**- Complications -**  
**Day 4: February 4th**

The streets of Fuyuki were deathly quiet. There were very few people on the streets of Shinto once the sun went down in these last few days. The recent grisly serial murders had everyone sealed in their homes early. Even the Fuyuki police only headed out on patrol in pairs now.

That suited Agent McNab just fine.

The Fuyuki night was cold. As he walked down the deserted streets of Shinto, he could see the vapor trails his breath made and felt the chill of winter even through his suit jacket. Plastered on nearby bus bulletins and lamp posts were warnings issued by the city. The pamphlets suggested all civilians should return home before night or avoid staying late within the city and walking in groups. It would have been good advice... if the killer had been human.

McNab idly thumbed the butt of his sidearm, more as a habit than to check the weapon was still there. His thoughts returned to a previous assignment with the Church in east Europe. He had been ordered to work with Church agents to investigate a village with incidents linked to a Dead Apostle that had fled Japan. When they had finally arrived at the snowy rural village, all the inhabitants were already dead; many from the vampire but some by their own hands. Some had hung themselves or cut their own wrists rather than be taken alive; the blood freezing before it had even touched the floor. The only thing that had seemed alive were the flying specks of snow and the ever constant whistling of the wind that clattered window shutters back and forth. And there was the cold... temperatures that chilled him even past the warmth of his winter jacket.

Though Fuyuki was thousands of miles from that small village in the north, he couldn't help but feel that same sense of danger and dread. It wasn't a feeling one could easily quantify, like the general sense of unease from being watched from afar; however, years of experience with the Agency had told him to trust that feeling when it appeared.

He stopped at the entrance to an alleyway before taking a look around, though he wasn't sure why he bothered; he'd been the only living thing on the streets of the city for the past hour.

Walking into the alley, he spotted the target he'd been tailing for the last few minutes. The man stood silently beside a dumpster; seemingly drunk as he stood listlessly and teetered back and forth. Walking with care towards his target, he gently drew the sidearm under his suit.

"Excuse me, I don't suppose you have a light?" McNab asked.

Turning around, The man reveal his deathly white complexion and lifeless eyes; most likely due to the gouging wounds in his torso and the hole in his neck. Bloodshot eyes and taut dry skin completed the morbid visage. Emitting a raspy noise from its throat, it recognized a new source of blood for its master. With its unseeing red eyes focused on its new target, the Dead charged.

Gunfire lit up the alley as McNab pulled back the trigger on his sidearm. The bullet penetrated through the corpses' skull; brain matter trailing in its wake. The Dead, not noticing or caring about the wound through its head, simply continued barreling at him. This time, McNab aimed at the torso and pulled back on the trigger until he ran empty. Each bullet slammed into its chest causing it to recoil backwards; it's body jumping to the tune of some unseen puppeteer as it spasmed back and forth.

The Dead, now with several biologically redundant bullet holes through its body, collapsed back down onto the ground. Wordlessly, McNab reloaded a new magazine into his pistol and then gave a sigh of relief.

Feeling his phone vibrate, McNab grabbed the wireless earpiece and placed it in his ear.

"Hello Ojōsan..." He stopped talking as she yelled through the speaker. Her voice fluctuated from anger, to worry and then back to anger.

"Look, I know you're mad I didn't tell you about this but there was no concrete evidence that a vampire was even..." Once again, he was interrupted by the voice that came across the line. On the ground, the Dead businessman emitted another strangled gasp as it began to rise again despite the twelve holes in its chest.

"Hold on, Ojōsan" said McNab. Taking careful aim with his pistol, he unloaded three more rounds into its head. Looking more like hamburger meat than an unliving creature, it collapsed back to the ground. Still aiming down the sights, he counted his heartbeats and waited for any movement.

The body lay still.

He exhaled the breath he'd been holding. Kneeling down, he placed the barrel of the gun on its chest just in case. He was relatively sure the thing would be staying dead from now on but he'd experienced too many horror movies to let his guard down now. Fishing through his suit pocket he withdrew a wooden stirring rod, the ones you'd find in a coffee shop or cafe, and used it to prod inside one of the bullet wounds.

It was dry, just like the other Dead he'd hunted down.

The Dead were drained of blood before they became the familiars of a Dead Apostle. If the corpse was dry then the Dead Apostle wasn't feeding. Hopefully the damn vampire would eventually get the message and finally leave Fuyuki.

As he stood up, the corpse began to deteriorate. A macabre scene unfolded in front of him. Freed from its master's magic, the corpse began to breakdown and disappear. Skin slowly dried and peeled away into the air while bone and organs liquefied. The eyes melted into their sockets and its teeth began to stain brown before falling into empty chasm of its mouth. It was as if the corpse was rotting and decaying in seconds instead of months. The body continued to evaporate before even the bones finally vaporized into a pile of dust. Eventually, even that too was blown away by an unfelt wind until all that was left were clothes. From his ear, Sable spoke once more.

Casually pulling out a hip flask his suit pocket, McNab took a swig of the rather sweet contents of the milk tea inside. He'd have to remember to get a bigger one next time; this one was slightly too small to last the night.

"Anyways, Ojōsan, there's no need for you to come out. I've already wrapped up most of the city prop..." he paused as she went off on another rant, leaving him waiting as she finished her piece.

Taking another swig from his flask, he walked out of the alley and returned to the yellow streetlights of Shinto; the streets as empty and silent as he had left them. Something from the edge of his senses left him weary and he glanced behind him back into the dark alley, arm at the hip ready to draw his sidearm.

The alley lay empty and silent. Even the Dead's clothes had disappeared with him. The agent shook his head before retracing his steps back towards the main road. Maybe going out on these patrols alone were finally getting to his nerves.

The voice spoke in irritation at the tardiness of his response. "Alright, fine. Yes, I know that place... It's near the cafe you've gone to these last few days. I'll be there in ten," he replied. With that, he stowed the earpiece back into his jacket.

These nightly strolls had been a regular occurrence ever since he'd theorized there was a Dead Apostle loose in Fuyuki. However, this night... There was something itching in the back of his mind. An unsettling feeling he just couldn't chase away even though tonight was the exact same as every other night patrol. Sighing with fatigue, he continued walking the empty streets of Shinto.

His footsteps echoed off the building walls and added to the cold night wind. Despite Sable's rather angry slurred voice on the other line, he appreciated talking to someone on these night patrols. He kept his eyes sharp on the corners and shadows while she went on about the dangers of patrolling alone. He had the heart to not mention to her the difficulties of patrolling the streets of Fuyuki when you couldn't even stand up straight. Even so...

"Perhaps I should have taken Sable with me. Having her magical sense would definitely help track down these Dead," he thought to himself. "We are supposed to be partners after all."

As he continued walking, the lights around him slowly winked out one by one. Slowing his walk he stopped in the middle of the street. Glancing instinctively at the sky for any airborne attacks, he drew his sidearm once more. Past the blowing of the light wind against the cityscape came a chilling sound. At first he thought it sounded like chains banging against one another but the sound slowly changed as it multiplied in intensity. He could could only compare it to a horde of cicadas; a thousand voices that turned into a single giant roar.

He took a pair of sunglasses from his suit and donned them, causing his view to be filled with static as the low-light vision from the glasses activated.

The Dead filled his view. There were over three dozen of them as they poured from alleyways and adjacent streets. With worrying speed, they began to close the distance between them and their victim. Behind him, more Dead began to emerge to cut off his exit.

"Looks like the Dead Apostle finally chose between fight and flight," thought McNab.

Behind him, he heard the whistle of wind and instinctively rolled to the right. He felt, more than heard, the blow that whistled by his head. The attack impacted against the road where he had been mere moments ago with the force of a massive sledgehammer that sent flying pieces of asphalt into the air. McNab came up from his roll, sidearm at the ready and aimed at the point of impact. Razor sharp claws still embedded in the asphalt, the small Dead Apostle withdrew her hand from the small crater in the ground. Her small stature coupled with her pale skin and crimson red eyes might have had McNab mistaking her for another Einzbern if it wasn't for the vampire's raven colored hair. Clad in a simple school girl's uniform, although different from the local highschool, the Dead Apostle surprised him by giggling. Unlike Homurahara high school, the girl wore a sailor's outfit normally seen in junior schools; about fifty years ago.

She smiled at him before bowing towards him respectably.

"So you are one of the famed agents of the Church?" said the girl, "The ones the others dare only discuss in whispers? The ones cause us to flee in terror? Consider me unimpressed."

Calmly and carefully, he calmly holstered his sidearm and wiped the dirt off his suit. Straightening his plain black tie, he said, "I'm sorry to disappoint you, but I'm not with the Church."

"Oh? Then do tell, human, who is it that you serve?" she said with a tinge of curiosity.

"The Shin'i Agency. Though you've probably never heard of it. It's not as 'mainstream' as the Church of Magus Association... but we're getting there. Although, I have a minor caveat with your statement. I don't serve Shin'i. I'm employed by them," said McNab. The agent brought up his hands in a defensive posture, as if apologizing for his statement. "I know it's a slight nitpick but Shin'i isn't royalty or a part of the government. "

"It matters not. All in this town will serve me soon enough," she said. There was a confidence in her creepy kid smile that had him worried.

"Well, if that's true then I would, of course, have to know the name of whom I would be serving?" said McNab.

"Ah, where are my manners," she said, placing her hand on her chest, "I have gone through many names in my time here... Elizabeth... Eliza... but mayhaps you have heard of the name Amarante? I found it a suitable description."

"Amarante... from the Tochigi incident?" he said." You've been quite the celebrity with the Church and Association. You left three knights dead and two magi wounded in your escape last time. Quite an impressive feat."

Idly, he brushed the lump on his belt where his cellphone was. Had Amarante been watching closer beforehand, she might have noticed the tall Agent's hands had lingered slightly longer than they should have over his waist when he'd been patting his coat clean. She might have also heard the minute sound as his phone redialed a number.

"It twas a mere fragment of my power. Let me demonstrate it to you," she said. Lifting her arms up, she summoned forth an army of black smoke wisps that seemed to circle and surround the street. Hundreds of these wisps seemed to weave in and out between buildings before disappearing into the darkness.

From the shadows of deserted alleyways and building corners came the silhouettes of unliving corpses. Dozens of the Dead appeared like an unending tide of flesh. More eerie than the numbers was their silence. Contrary to what the media showed, the Dead in this world didn't moan, scream or mutter 'brains'. More often than not, they were completely silent and were utterly relentless with their lifeless determination to bring their victim down.

"Behold, my numberless army," she announced, her hands triumphantly in the air.

"This lady really needs to stop drinking her own koolaid," thought McNab. If Amarante hadn't been so caught up in her act, she might have noticed the condescending look he was giving her. Ever so slowly, he thumbed his sidearm underneath his coat.

"Now... gratefully perish..." she began to say.

He interrupted her, "actually, I have a question. What's with the sailor school uniform? "I mean... It doesn't really fit with the times. No one's worn something like that for years. "

"What?" said the girl slowly; her face a look of confusion. The agent's sudden comment caught her off guard.

"From our intel and the fact several of your servants are wearing Victoria era clothing, I'm estimating you're at least a hundred years old. Most vampires don't gather this much power without being at least that old. No... what confuses me is that tacky uniform. Maybe you have weird tastes for young girls? Although I would say that's slightly creepy given your age."

The girl narrowed her eyes at McNab as if she could burn him away just by her glare. If he looked closer, he might have seen a vein pulsing on her forehead.

He continued talking calmly, ignoring Amarante's withering stare, "that might be a Vampire thing though," he calmly, "perhaps its something to do with infinite youth mixed with continuous mental aging. I'll have to ask our..."

"Shut up! Shut up you miserable piece of meat!" she screeched in her childish like voice. He could detect anger and outrage in her voice; exactly what he wanted.

"Now that's just plain rude. Surely a little girl like you would know better than to interrupt someone while they're talking," he replied casually.

"Why you annoying little..." a single gunshot stopped her words. Moving with nearly Servant level speed, she twisted her body away as the .40 S&W bullet just barely grazed her cheek.

On the ground, McNab held the smoking gun from his hand. In the blink of an eye he had drawn, aimed and fired the gun in one motion.

"How d..." her words were cut off again as McNab fire another round towards her and the Dead Apostle was forced to dodge once again.

Landing on another lamppost she looked down felt the blood from the bullet that had grazed her arm.

"Kill him!" She screamed in anger to her Dead slaves. He fired another shot but this time she was ready. Jumping from the post, she disappeared into the shadows of the night.

* * *

Gunshots echoed across the empty city of Shinto and lit up the pitch black streets. Four bullets penetrated through the front windowpane of a cafe before McNab decided it was simpler to kick the wooden front door down. Passing through the empty cafe, he sped past empty tables before vaulting over the counter. Turning around, he took the time to fire the rest of his clip into the first Dead that came through the door. Static washed his view as his glasses compensated for the sudden contrast in lighting.

Rushing through the darkened kitchen, he kicked open the cafe's rear door. Sidearm at the ready, he aimed the gun down both directions of the alley and breathed a silent sigh of relief when he found it empty. The alley held the distinct aroma of rancid meat mixed with the pungent smell of fish and weeks worth of used cooking oil. Despite his urge to gag, however, it was at least safe for these several seconds.

Fishing out his earpiece, he activated it and spoke, "Sable. Did you get all of that? I'm going to need a ride out of here."

"I'm three minutes out. Where do you want extraction?" came Sable's voice. Despite her general goofiness before, his partner's tone right now was as cold and emotionless as steel. He wracked his mind for a nearby location even as he scrambled to find directions in his mental map. Picking a route, he headed down the right side of the alley; running past dumpsters and upturned cardboard boxes.

"Head for the main street. The one that runs straight through Shinto through into Miyama. I'll be the man running from an army of corpses. You won't miss me," he said.

"Confirmed. 3 minutes," reported Sable.

Cutting the connection, he continued running through the aging brick alleyway towards the light. Sprinting from the darkness, he passed into the pale illumination of Shinto's streetlights and was rewarded by a blow to the chest. With the sound of a sickening bone-snapping crack that echoed through the air, McNab fell on his back to the cold pavement; his lungs gasping for air. His head hit the pavement and for a moment his vision split to double. He forced himself to blink and the dizziness faded away although the rhythmic pulses of pain that were beating the back of his head remained. Looking upward, he saw what had hit him.

The broad looking down towards him might have been beautiful once, if she'd still had her lower jaw and fixed the missing chunks of flesh from her neck. Skin tinged necrotic grey, her arm hung limply at a wrong angle; broken from her own attack against him. The Dead's head tilted sideways to look at him, a seemingly impossible movement considering her left neck muscles were gone.

He aimed his sidearm upwards and pulled back on the trigger until it clicked empty. Above him, the broad turned uglier with every bullet until she finally collapsed to the ground; body littered with bullets. A seemingly final breathe left the woman's lifeless lungs before her body turned to black smoke and drifted to the breeze of some ethereal wind; only a faint pile of ash and dust left on the ground.

McNab's head still pounded in pain as he pushed himself from the ground. Looking around, he found his glasses and angrily shoved them in his suit pocket. When he'd left the alley, his glasses had washed white from the streetlamps; temporarily blinding him. It had taken half a second to correct the change but that had been enough to leave him gasping on the sidewalk pavement.

"Damn novice mistake," he thought to himself angrily.

He kept running; each breathe shooting pain through his chest. Despite the protection provided by his suit's kevlar padding, he felt the sharp sting of pain from his broken ribs. Running down the main road, he thought he heard laughter in the wind.

"Time to die," came Amarante's voice. Her words echoed and resound across the skyscrapers and different buildings in the downtown corridor. From the sky came dozens of familiar shades of smoke that soon materialized a wall of shuffling flesh and bones that sealed his exit from the city and surrounded him.

"Nice acoustics, kid. You know... I have a friend in the music business. I'm sure they'd love to hire someone with your set of skills," he said to the air. Silence was it's reply.

For a moment, his brow squinted in annoyance; he felt snubbed from the lack of a response..

All around him, the summoned endless horde began their endless advance. A man in his late fifties wearing a blood stained dress shirt. A brunette wearing a white sweater with blue eyes. Another man with long messy hair missing a section of his neck. A plethora of faces. Each of their eyes vacant and distant. Each one looking to consume his body for Amarante.

"Huh..." said McNab. As the circle of corpses began to close around him, he began to regret not taking his partner with him today.

Gunfire lit up the empty streets of Shinto once more as McNab opened fire against the mob. His targets danced like marionettes to his gun's tune with every pull of the trigger: A man in his late fifties wearing a blood stained dress shirt, a brunette wearing a white sweater with blue eyes, another man with a macabre smile because the lower half of his face had been eaten away; his teeth stained black and yellow with decay. All of them laid to rest under the agent's bullets.

The slide to his gun locked empty and the final shell casing fell against the asphalt ground; ringing and echoing into the night like a wind chime. Before him, the horde seemed to have grown even thicker from his attempts to whittle them down. "Three down..." McNab thought, "a hundred to go..."

He grabbed another magazine from his reserve holder and continued firing; the rhythmic report of his sidearm was a drumbeat for the shambling corpses.

Sable's voice came over the earpiece, "Get down, idiot."

"Huh?" McNab replied. He turned around, facing west towards Miyama, before a rush of hurricane force winds sent him hurtling backwards onto the asphalt road. He felt the ground tumble past him as he tried and failed to find any purchase on the flat road. His back collided against a street light and he bit down hard on his teeth from the pain resonating in his chest from his already broken ribs. Gripping his arm on the street light as support, McNab looked up just in time to duck as one of the dead flew past his head. The gale-force winds had blown all the Dead down the street along with anything else not nailed down. Dirt, trash, signs and anything else that hadn't been properly bolted down were blown down the street along with the Dead in what reminded the agent of images from a recent tsunami.

Coughing and stretching his back from the pain, the agent pushed himself off the ground. Before him, in the center of the road, was a pristine sports car parked in the middle of the road. Painted in a quicksilver, the car's immaculate frame reflected Shinto's city lights off it's carbon fiber frame hood like some of the commercials he'd seen before. Retrieving his sidearm which luckily hadn't been blown too far away, he groggily walked towards the car; hand clutching his wounded side.

Leaning on the right side of the convertible, he greeted the driver. "Agent Sable, excellent timing as always."

"Get in, idiot," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. Her cold voice and angry eyes belied the cheerful demeanor she had held before.

"I guess the night air ain't the only thing that got chillier since I last saw you..." he said.

An ear splitting shriek split the night. He turned in time to see one of the Dead leap towards him. Unlike the others, however, this one seemed changed and mutated. Long jagged teeth closer to a shark's maw replaced the woman's mouth. Her body seemed drained of all excess fat and flesh, giving a gaunt look. What caught his attention, however, were the inch long flesh rending claws that replaced the Dead's hands. McNab brought his sidearm up...

"Down!" his partner yelled. Placing her palm outward, Sabler's eyes narrowed in concentration and a beam of golden light shot from her hands and struck the Dead; vaporizing its body into ether and dust.

"What the ...?" said McNab in surprise. None of the Dead he'd seen had shown that kind of celerity before.

Around him, several of the undead began to morph. Their bodies spasmed and unseen energies warped the corpses into the creature that had just attacked them. A tingle went down his spine in fear and he felt the familiar tingle of adrenaline spiking in his system. He hurled himself into the rear seats of the sports car and bit back against the pain when he landed.

"Ojōsan, I think it is time for us to de-ass the immediate area," shouted McNab; aiming his gun and firing rounds into the horde.

"Agreed," she said. Sable decapitated one of the dead with another focused beam of shifting the car's gears and speeding away.

Behind them, the mutated Dead ran after them on all fours like rabid hounds from hell. He watched as they disappeared from view from the car's speed and he breathed a sigh of relief. He clambered into the passenger's seat with care; painfully aware just how fast his partner was speeding down the city roads.

Sable gave him a stare that would have melted steel. "Was this your plan? Go solo so I could find your corpse in the morning?" she yelled towards him, her ponytail flowing in the wind behind her.

"Quite frankly, Ojōsan, I had it under control," he said.

"Under control?" she said exasperated, "being surrounded and about to be eaten by the Dead is under control?"

"Maybe," he said rather quietly under his breathe.

"Idiot," she muttered.

The car swerved as Sable took another sharp turn; its tires screeching in protest. McNab held on with all his strength as the car nearly tipped over from the acute angle. The dull thump of tires meeting asphalt once more did little to soothe his nerves. Streetlights whipped by at high speeds as they drove away. A sudden thought jumped to the forefront of his mind.

"Wait, weren't you drunk less than an hour ago?" he asked.

"Maaaybe," she answered, inebriation returning in her words. She gave a perky smile towards him that scared him more than the Dead they'd left behind. He put on the seat-belt and unconsciously gripped the car harder.

Sable made another sharp turn, her hands a flurry of motion as she switched gears while holding the wheel. More prepared this time, McNab was able to hold on and prevent himself from accidentally headbutting Sable in the face from the whiplash; although with this wild driving he still felt like doing so. Drifting from the turn, he could see the buildings flying by as Sable sped up the sports car.

"Ojōsan, can we please slow down?" asked McNab in a rather nervous tone.

"But why?" she said with a slight whine, "there's a perfectly flat stretch of road there." She gestured to the completely empty and straight road ahead of them.

"Because you're one mistake away from a seven hundred and twenty degree rollover," he replied bluntly.

* * *

Several kilometers later, they finally stopped the car at the edge of Fuyuki bridge. It might have been the third time she smacked him in the arm while driving and called him an idiot that she noticed him wincing in pain longer than he should have. It was at that time that Sable realized he had multiple contusions and two cracked ribs. Stopping the car, Sable finally took a look at his wounds.

"Hold still," said Sable.

"Ack!" said McNab

"Look, if you don't hold still it'll only hurt more."

"Damnit, can't we do this at the safe-house? Its too cramped and cold in here."

"Oh quit your whining already and take off your shirt."

"What!? Hey n.. now just wait... Gah..."

"See? Now doesn't that feel better?" she asked.

A warm sensation spread from Sable's touch. He could feel his cracked ribs slowly setting back into proper place. The pain ebbed away slowly until all he could feel were Sable's hands on his body. "Does it hurt anywhere else, McNaba-kun?" asked Sable calmly. She stared upwards at him, her eyes almost level with his chin. He could feel her soft warm hands on his body. This close to his body, he could feel her warm breath gently tickle his skin on this cold winter night... Her face was close eno...

"Keep professional... Keep focused," he thought, "She's already taken. So keep. It. Professional..." He pulled away from Sable abruptly, much to her surprise.

After an awkward moment where they both stared at each other, he said, "Anyways, thank you for the help back there. I'll admit I may have been in some trouble back there." In an attempt to keep face, he started straightening his suit.

She gave a mischievous chuckle at his odd reaction.

"This is why I like you McNab. You're always so amusing to have around," she said with a sly grin. Failing to find a snappy line to throw back at her, he simply gave her an annoyed glance.

"Why can I stand Vampires, Demons, and Eldricht abominations but not her," he thought with annoyance. He forced himself to relax the fist he had unintentionally been tightening.

Taking a long breath, McNab slumped into the leather seat of the car. Grumbling slightly at the lack of a headrest, he adjusted the seat downward and used the shoulder cushions as an impromptu pillow. Sighing with fatigue, he collapsed into the chair and closed his eyes. "You know... with that vampire staying here this entire war just got much more complicated."

"Mmhmm" agreed Sable. Reaching over towards the glove compartment, she pulled out the half eaten sandwich she had been chewing on previously. Like a kid eating a large bar of chocolate, she bit into the sandwich with a satisfied expression; happily munching into the Rye bread. Unfortunately, in her mad bid to inhale the tasty meal she inadvertently let a dollop of mayonnaise and mustard splatter on to her black pants. Her mouth sealed shut with Gouda and Pastrami, she made a series of "mumphs" and other anguished noises as she searched for something to clean her pants in the car; her one free hand flailing wildly in frustration. From the sounds she was making, McNab guessed she was failing.

Not bothering to open his eyes, he took out a napkin from his suit and handed it to her which she took with an affirmative-pitched, "mmhmm!"

Deciding to crack open half an eye, McNab rotated his head and looked at her with an accusing look, "isn't that mine?"

Halting in mid bite, Sable innocently stared back and forth between her meal and Mcnab. Finally making a decision, she held the sandwich towards McNab. The fact that in the span of several moments she had demolished almost all of the sandwich most likely hadn't occurred to her.

Rolling his eyes in disbelief, he pushed the meal away and leaned back once more into the seat. Shrugging her shoulders, she rapidly consumed the dwindling sandwich. Finishing the meal with glee, she opened and then leaned on the car door to enjoy the cool night breeze. They both stared at the darkened Shinto skyline in silence; wondering what the future days in this city would hold.

"Ojōsan, I have a question," said McNab, "Didn't Shin'ai specifically tell you to stop leasing sports cars for missions?"

* * *

**Day 4: February 4th  
- Jasmine with Serenity -**

Crouching atop one of the higher trees near the Tohsaka residence, Archer observed the situation in spirit form. First there was that odd Saber and then the new Caster. Looking into Shinto, it looked like now there was most likely a Dead Apostle in Shinto. He gave a mental sigh. Truly, this must have been Alaya's bizarre attempt at humor.

After Caster left the battlefield, Rin had ordered him to take Shirou back to her home. True to Caster's predictions, Rin had decided to help Shirou rather than chase after her. Upon looking upon the damage, Rin had briefly turned pale before immediately setting to work. Despite Caster's healing, the fool's actions would still take a massive amount of time to heal. Unable to help Rin any further, he left her with Shirou and Saber to let her concentrate.

He continued to observe Fuyuki bridge as the pair finally began to drive back into Miyama. As their car finally disappeared from view, Archer wondered who they might be. They didn't look like any members of the Church or the Mages Association. Magi normally never used guns and Church Executors normally wielded holy Conceptual Weapons and wore clothes laden with cross insignia and holy paraphernalia. These two fit neither profile and he made a mental note to keep an eye on these two.

In any case, he'd have to inform Rin of this new turn of events. A Dead Apostle sulking in the shadows while the Holy Grail War was going on could only mean trouble.

"Archer, could you come back here?" came Rin's mental order.

Floating through the walls in spirit form, he materialized into the main living room. Rin was kneeling hunched over the prone form of Shirou.

Surprisingly, he found Saber kneeling across from Rin. Though she still wore her armor, she had removed her two gauntlets for better control. In her hand was a damp cloth and she was gently wiping the sweat from Rin's brow as Rin continued healing the hurt Magus. This continued for several moments as Rin healed Shirou while Saber assisted Rin in any way she could. Not wanting to interrupt their silent team dynamic, Archer said nothing. After all, he might be able to call upon thousands of Noble Phantasms but when it came to healing broken bones and internal bleeding Rin would be the better magical healer.

The light from Rin's hands faded and from his position, Archer could see Shirou's chest was healed.

"Huh... that was quicker than I anticipated," Rin said. Yawning, the twin tailed magus stood up and started walking towards the house stairs. Both eyes appeared closed as she moved past her tall tanned Servant.

"Rin?" asked Archer.

"Sleep," moaned Rin before slamming her palm into her approaching servant's face and pushing him away. "Guard... stuff..."

"There's something you should know ab..." Archer said.

"...morrow," muttered Rin before yawning again. The raven haired master slowly plodded up the stairs, drained of energy, like the Dead he'd seen mere minutes ago.

"I better make sure she doesn't fall asleep in the hall," thought Archer. Giving a quick glance towards Saber and Shirou, he followed Rin to her bedroom.

* * *

Archer returned downstairs after tucking his troublesome master to bed; which had taken more effort than he'd intended. Rin had collapsed unconscious the moment she had been within sleeping range of her bed. It had taken all his agility and skill to position her to the head of the bed and tuck her in without her waking up. Unless you were prepared to dodge gandr and spells of mass destruction, you didn't want to wake up Rin at night.

Walking back into the living room, he saw Saber still in her seiza sitting position; eyes closed in meditation. Beside her lay Shirou, still unconscious from his wounds. Saber opened her eyes at his presence.

"Is everything suitable for you, tonight?" asked Archer. The knight gently nodded her head.

"Then if you are comfortable here, I shall return to watch over Rin," said Archer. However, as he turned for the stairs, Saber spoke.

"Actually, Archer, if it is alright with you, could you brew me a pot of tea? I would appreciate the warmth during the night," she said.

For a moment in time, both servants stared at one another in silence. On one hand, he should return to Rin to guard over her while she slept. Saber herself was also now a wild card; he couldn't be quite sure just who she was. On the other hand, he was definitely sure this was the Saber he had known and it would be rude to refuse her request.

Finally, Saber gave him a warm smile that finally broke his resolve.

"Very well. I'll brew you some tea," said Archer as headed into the kitchen.

"Thank you, Archer," he heard her say through the kitchen doorway.

He placed the kettle on the stove before heading straight for the left most cupboard for the tea. Inside it were dozens of different types of tea leaves, ranging in type from Oolong and Darjeeling to herbal tea. There were varying types of tea quality in Rin's cupboard, ranging from the lower quality "dust" or fanning teabags used by low end cafes, which were just the minute particles on the bottom that were left after tea leaves were sorted, to the expensive real full tea leaves that could easily cost over two thousand yen for a cup. However, only the best could be given to the King of Knights.

He moved aside several metal tin boxes before bringing out a certain ornate metal box; the one that held Rin's exotic Chinese leaves.

As he readied the tea on the kettle, he looked into the living room to see Saber moving Shirou to one of the couches in the room. Somehow, Saber had also acquired a thick comforter and carefully covered Shirou with the blanket.

Taking the tea from the kitchen, he gently placed the fine china onto the table. With refined and precise movements, he carefully poured both of them a cup. Taking a seat across from Saber, he waited and observed as she took a quick sip of the exotic tea. Her face turned to one of surprise and her olive green eyes turned towards Archer.

"It is quite good," she said with a slight nod.

"Thank you," he replied with a satisfied smile. That made two out of two people that enjoyed his tea.

Silence returned to the room as the two Servants drank from their china wordlessly; Saber sat on the ground while Archer lounged comfortably on one of Rins ornate chairs. Taking in a large sip, he savored the tea's rich earthy flavor.

"I don't suppose you're going to tell me who you are," said Archer, breaking the silence.

Saber smiled. "No, of course not. It is more amusing this way."

Rather than being annoyed, Archer simply returned the smile. Truth be told, he hadn't expected her to. From the evening's earlier conversation, he realized he wouldn't be obtaining any information from her directly. Right now, this simple tit-for-tat was just a game for him; gaining any new information would be a bonus. Truth be told, he found it kind of fun.

He chuckled in response. "My, you are an annoying one, servant Saber. Always fluttering between the truth," he replied.

"That is because I learned it from an old master. Perhaps you might know him?" she said. Saber brought the cup to her lips, hiding a smile.

"Touche," said Archer, "though I wonder what your master would think of you hiding secrets from him.

"Perhaps the same thing Rin would be thinking. Though I dare say your ability to weather her wrath, compared to Shirou's, would be... shall we say... inadequate. Perhaps if you had been a Saber-class Servant..." replied Saber.

Archer chuckled. In this regard, he couldn't argue with Saber's logic; Rin's firecracker temper would be difficult to control if she ever found out he'd been lying to her. Conceding defeat, he offered his concession by refilling their cups which she accepted.

Putting down the teapot, he picked up the teacup and enjoyed the relaxing smell of tea; closing his eyes to enjoy the fragrance. Another reason he had chosen this tea was its rarity. He wasn't sure how Rin had purchased it, but it had been impossible to find in his time after he parted company from Rin all those years before... or would that be in the next few years? Idly, he wondered if perhaps it was something originally purchased from Rin's father, Tokiomi, before the 4th Grail War. He'd have to ask Rin when they had a spare moment. Opening his eyes, he saw Saber staring absentmindedly at her cooling tea; her eyes looking deep within the liquid's orange reflection.

"Is something wrong with the tea, Saber?" asked Archer.

Her green eyes looked up towards him, "Hmm? Not at all. The tea is wonderful, it is simply that..." Saber paused and looked far into the distance outside the window. Her face showed her mind deep in thought; taking care to choose her words carefully.

"We might be enemies tomorrow, Archer, but this peaceful serenity we have right now..." She paused as she took a small sip of tea.

"I will definitely miss it," she said.

The room grew still as her odd words seemingly brought a peaceful lull after them. Outwardly, Archer simply continued to gently sip away at his tea. In his mind, however, his mind churned over her words. It was a rather odd thing for the King of Knights to say. He'd never known Saber to be quite so... sentimental. Making a mental note, he carefully stored these thoughts into his mind for later.

Finally breaking the mood, Archer spoke. "My, that was quite poetic there, Saber." said Archer in a slightly mocking tone.

"Archer...!" exclaimed Saber. Her eyes narrowed in anger as she turned her face towards Archer. Her anger was tempered, however, when she saw Archer with the warm friendly grin on his face. She smothered her annoyance in an attempt to avoid Archer's playful attempt at goading her. Exhaling a slight sigh, she returned to her normal controlled demeanor.

Archer sipped his tea, "although, there's no problem with a warrior also being a poet."

Giving his words some thought, she nodded in agreement. "Yes, I suppose that is true," she replied before relaxing back into her seiza sitting stance. With hot tea to accompany them during the night, Archer and Saber both sat in silence; ever vigilant yet enjoying the quiet serenity that came with the night.

* * *

_- White -  
_  
_"Hey, kid? Do you remember what happened to you?" he asked. "Hey, kid... Kid? Oye, can you even hear me?"_  
_He snapped his fingers in front of the child's eyes and the kid finally turned to look towards him._  
_"Who are you?" he said, "can you tell me your name? Do you even know know who you are? Kid?"_


	6. What is Burned In

**_- Threads of Fate -  
- Chapter 4 -_**

**_Day 4: February 4th_**  
**_- What is Burned In -_**

Shirou coughed as the scalding hot air burned his throat and seared his lungs. He hobbled down the smoke-ridden streets looking for any help but, in this excruciating heat, he could barely walk; his arms and legs felt like logs. Not even the hottest summer in Japan could measure up to this heat. It was like standing over a gigantic bonfire with scorching pain that seared every inch of your body yet you couldn't escape.

It seemed as if the entire city had been hit by the fire. All around him were the burnt out husks of buildings. The sky was painted shades of red and orange as fire raged out of control across the landscape.

The sound of cracking and splintering wood from a nearby house caught his attention. Looking at the house, it was an old brick building that held up against the fire; only the second floor seemed to have been destroyed. Perhaps someone was still alive there. Dried grass crunched under his feet as he slowly moved towards the building. Looking through a window he saw what he thought might have been a living room. On the floor unmoving was a child who he couldn't be much older than he was. Over him was a man with a cloth wrapped around his mouth as he lifted the child with utmost care. Perhaps it was the father?

Over the sound of crackling fire, Shirou could heard the wood giving way. The man must have heard it was well as he quickened his pace and made his way towards the wouldn't make it. Even as the man ran, Shirou saw the avalanche of wood, brick and mortar falling towards them. At the last moment, the man saw him looking through the window. For that one moment, he saw the fear and despair in his wide eyes.

Shirou reached out with his arm as if his will alone could save them. He wished with all his might that he could save them but it was not to be.

In less than a heartbeat, they were gone, buried underneath the rubble. Like a chain reaction, the rest of the brick house crumbled in upon itself and he stumbled backwards to avoid the rain of debris. Running as fast as he could, he saw the pile of rubble finally come to a rest; a giant tombstone to the two people inside. He wanted to cry for them but he was too tired even for that. The unrelenting heat stole even that small mercy from him. He stared for long moments at the spot where the father and son had been.

There was nothing here now... only the dead. With what little strength he had in him, he forced himself to keep walking.

It was the same dream again, the fire from ten years ago. In it he walked and he ran as he always did but the outcome was the same. Nothing ever changed. Death and destruction surrounded him no matter where he went. He continued onward but he knew there was no end to this hellfire. Even though it was a dream he could never find the end to the fire and death around him.

In the distance, he could hear someone crying...

* * *

**_- Rise and Shine, Emiya-san. Rise and Shine -_**

Shirou slowly opened his eyes, the fragments of his dream fading like frost in the summer sun. He coughed as if to expel the smoke and ash from his lungs; still shaking the image of his dream away. Immediately, dull pain swelled across his abdomen with each cough and he grimaced. Looking down, he saw bandages across his chest and stomach.

"Ugh, what happened yesterday?" he said to himself.

Two things immediately registered in his mind. First, the light floral patterns on the roof indicated that he was definitely not back home. Secondly, the two feminine voices yelling at him meant he'd probably done something bad.

"That should be the question I should ask you, Shirou," said Saber sternly.  
"Idiot! You almost died, Shirou, that's what happened," yelled Rin.

Beside him were Saber and Rin who were both staring at him with irritation in their eyes. A chill went up the back of his spine that spread to the front of his naked chest...

Wait... Naked?!

"Gah! Where'd my shirt go?" said Shirou as he reached for the blanket that had been covering his bandaged torso. He also noticed his regular blue jeans were splattered with blood; most likely his own. Giving a slight sigh, Rin picked up a bundle of clothes and handed them to him before looking away.

"Here, Archer retrieved them from your home. The washroom is down the hall," said Rin with a look of annoyance as she diverted her eyes.

Almost comically, Shirou grabbed the clothes and rushed towards the washroom. Stumbling through the door, he locked it behind him with a click. With a door finally between him the girls outside, he breathed a sigh of relief and then felt the pain return in full force. He could feel nausea rising from his stomach and he stumbled onto the porcelain sink. With heavy breathes, he fought back against the pain in his chest and the bile within his throat. That was good though, the pain reminded him he was alive. After a moment, he could feel the pain eventually fade away and he breathed a sigh of relief.

Searching his memory, scenes from yesterday flashed through his mind and he remembered what happened. He had tried to protect Saber by pushing her out of the way but instead he'd only taken the blow head on. Gingerly, he gently touched his bandaged abdomen as if to make sure it was still there. It felt slightly sore but he supposed that was better than having nothing there at all.

Splashing water onto his face, he quickly got dressed and went out. Walking through the hall, he suddenly noticed the warm sunlight streaming through the old curtained windows. Stepping back into the main room, he could see both Rin and Saber sitting calmly waiting for him while drinking tea. On a central wooden coffee table lay a tray with an assortment of biscuits and fruit pastries as well as an ornate teapot; hot steam still rising from the mouth.

As he headed towards his seat, he couldn't help but notice the stark contrast between his home and Tohsakas. While his house had been built to model a traditional Japanese home with tatami floors and thin rice paper dividers, Tohsaka's house looked closer to one you would find in Victorian London. Ornate wooden furniture adorned each room with slightly floral wallpaper design. There even had an old grandfather clock in the corner.

Oddly, Archer wasn't here although he supposed the red Servant was simply hovering behind Rin in spirit form.

"Emiya-kun, I assume from your ability to run that you're feeling all better now?" asked Rin as she calmly took a sip of her tea.

Shirou patted his abdomen just to check once more. His memories of last night seemed surreal compared to what his body looked like right now. Rin truly was a master with magecraft if she could heal a wound like that.

"I think so," he said, checking over his body once more. "I guess I have you to thank for saving me?"

"Yes, I healed you wounds... well, there was Caster before that... but mostly me, of course," she said. He noticed her eye twitch at the mention of Caster.

"I suppose I owe you my thanks for saving my life then... so... thank you, Tohsaka," he said. He punctuated his remark with a bow of his head.

"Uhh... heh..." she replied nervously. Her face seemed flustered from the compliment before she took a breath to collect herself. Rin exhaled before forcing her body in a rigid pose and giving him a serious look. "However, it seems like you didn't remember from yesterday."

"Listen to me," said Rin as her tone went serious, "you're acting as if we're friends. I told you yesterday but it seems like it didn't stick into your head." Rin paused and stood up for effect.

"We. are. enemies." She said by emphasizing each word, "You don't thank your enemy. You're still acting as if this was nothing but a game. Don't you understand? The enemy Master is just another obstacle to be removed even if they were your own family. If you refuse to take this war seriously then you will die!" she said, shouting at the end.

He could see the anger mixing with her cold Magus demeanor. Of course it was natural for her to be mad. She had probably been trained for years to be the heir to the Tohsaka family. For an amateur to be chosen as a Master and only take it half seriously would have been a serious affront to any Magus. By not taking it seriously he was insulting her. Still... something seemed off.

"I understand," said Shirou after a quiet moment of silence, "but if that's the case, Tohsaka, then shouldn't you have killed me while I was unconscious yesterday? Doesn't that just leave you with another Master and Servant to deal with?"

As if her hand had been caught opening presents before Christmas Day, she froze on the spot. Quickly recovering, she gave a quick "hmph" before looking away at a distant point on the wall.

"It's not my style to kill someone in their sleep," said Rin before twitching her mouth in annoyance, "besides, you helped reveal Berserker and Caster for me so I did owe you. Again... Anyways, that's enough chatting. I'm sure your Servant can fill in the details about what happened after your... idiotic actions yesterday." She quickly ushered Shirou and Saber towards the front door.

Walking outside, his eyes were blinded by the bright sunlight. Waiting for a moment for his eyes to adjust, he guessed it must have been sometime mid afternoon. A well trimmed lawn lay before him with grey tiling leading to the street. He inwardly chuckled at the thought of Rin tinkering and straining against a lawn mower to cut the rather large yard.

Come to think of it, he'd never even seen the entire front of Tohsaka's house let alone been inside of it. It really was an act of kindness from her to have taken essentially what was an enemy in for the night. Turning to look behind him, he saw Rin standing at the door, her Magus demeanor having returned. Her cold blue eyes stared at him as she watched them leave.

"I suppose this is where we part?" he said, already knowing her answer.

She nodded. "Emiya-kun, this will be my last warning. The next time we see one another we will be enemies. Remember that." With that final message she shut the door on them.

* * *

After leaving Tohsaka, they headed towards home. It was Sunday and sunny today so more people were out and about than normal. Saber received curious stares from several people. Given Fuyuki's past as a city of commerce, foreigners weren't completely rare but they did attract attention. Shirou was rather glad Rin had the foresight to provide her with clothing. Of course, that provided a new problem for him. It wasn't that there was anything wrong with the proper white shirt she wore or that the dark blue skirt and obi around her waist might hinder her combat , it was the fact that even outside her armour she had a beautiful radiance that drew his eyes to her.

"...And that is essentially what happened after... Shirou, are you even listening?" said Saber.

"Of... Of course..." said Shirou, quickly turning his head to hide the fact he had been staring at her. He rapidly tried to come up with something to change the subject, "I was just thinking about those clothes Rin gave you..."

"Yes?" said Saber as she waited for a response.

"They look good on you..." he felt heat rise to his head as he realized the implications of what he said. "I... I... I mean, they're good at hiding your status as a Servant."

"Yes, that is true. I would certainly have looked suspicious with my armour on," she said while idly sizing up her own clothes. If there was any indication she noticed Shirou's pause or the blood rushing to his face, she hadn't shown it.

Shirou took a breath. She was his partner and was depending on him to win the war. In order to do that they would have to communicate and work together. He'd have to get used to working with Saber inside and outside of combat. Steeling himself, he looked up to see Saber staring at him; a serious expression on her face.

"Saber?"

"Shirou, about last night," said Saber. He nodded his head to signify she had gotten his attention. "Do you know Caster? She says the only reason she saved you was because you saved her life before."

As they waited for the light to change, Shirou searched through his memories. Nothing came up. Even before the war started he barely qualified as a Magus. He found the mere thought of an amateur Magus like him saving the powerful Caster ridiculous. "I don't think so." he said, "why do you ask? Isn't it a good thing that Caster saved me?"

"Shirou," she said sternly, "Servants are summoned to win the Grail. There is no reason for a Servant to save another Master especially if she is not one of the Knight class Servants. If you don't know her then she lied and that means you're part of her plan to win the war. Now think hard, Shirou, is there anything no matter how small that might link you to Caster?"

They crossed once the lights finally changed green.

"I don't think so... although..." his voice trailed off in thought, "I remember her voice yesterday, before everything blacked out. She was..." he wasn't sure what to call it. When he thought about it, all he could think of was a memory. Before the fire had destroyed everything he remembered a young boy living a normal life. Thinking about it after all these years, it seemed as if it was someone else's memories.

He'd been unable to sleep that night. The heavy rain and wind had battered the windows and kept him wide awake as if there were a horrible creature outside. Thunder struck nearby and his nerve finally broke. With a loud yelp he ran out of his room. He finally found her out in the living room and immediately hugged her knees.

"There's nothing to be afraid of, Shirou. It's just the weather," she had said.

She picked him up and gently lay him on the soft sofa. Holding him close to her body, she whispered comforting words to him as he drifted to sleep. Being around her felt like nothing in the world could harm him even as the loud wind continued fluttering the windows. Under her protective embrace he'd finally fallen asleep.

He had been so caught up in the memory that he didn't notice he'd stopped talking until Saber began shaking him.

"Shirou! Are you alright? Talk to me," she said with concern. "Did Caster put a spell on you? Shirou! Wake up!" She shook him a few more times for good measure.

Saber's sudden grave concern made him inadvertently chuckle, a gesture that annoyed the knight. Saber placed her hands on her hips as her brow scrunched in annoyance. Her narrowed green eyes told him she was not amused.

"This isn't funny, Shirou," said Saber, "I was being serious. She could have easily cast a spell on you."

He finally stopped laughing and spoke, "I'm sorry, Saber. Anyways, I'm fine. I don't think Caster used any sort of control spell. It's just that I was remembering how Caster reminded me of my mother when I was small. I know it isn't much but maybe Caster's Heroic Spirit had a family?"

"Oh. Hmm... it's possible" she said while pondering. "Regardless, if you feel strange in anyway you should tell me immediately. I am a knight class Servant and you are not a strong Magus. There's no telling what enchantments she may have cast on you with her back turned."

"Alright... Alright, Saber, I will," he said trying to reassure her. "Besides, if there was anything wrong with me I'm sure Tohsaka would have noticed it."

It appeared his comment only annoyed the small Servant even more. "Shirou, you should stop underestimating the enemy. Caster is a Servant, not a normal Magus. Have you not considered the possibility she may have hid a spell with her skills?" she said.

"Saber really doesn't like Casters, does she?" Shirou thought to himself. Maybe it was something to do with her legend. He'd have to ask her that later. Opening his mouth to reply to Saber a sudden nausea rose from his stomach. Collapsing to his knees, he felt dizzy as he willed the nausea away. He supposed it was only natural. Saber had said his healing was possibly due to an odd connection between their status as Servant and Master. However, even with this healing there was bound to be some lingering pain; wounds always took time to heal. Most people died after being stabbed in the heart. He supposed he should count himself lucky.

After a moment the nausea and dizziness receded and he felt better. Opening his eyes, he saw Saber at his side. She was kneeling right next to him, her face was slightly pale as she looked at him; the same look she had right after he had taken Berserker's blow.

He broke a pained smile to try to reassure her, "Heh, don't worry Saber. It's just lingering pain from the wound. I'm alright now."

"Are you sure?" she said with concern. She had never been this close to him. At this distance, he could see she had really beautiful olive green eyes. Sunlight seemed to dance across her blonde hair. He felt a sudden uncomfortable heat flush through his body and his breath was caught in his throat.

"Shirou?" asked Saber.

Realizing just how close they were, Shirou immediately stood up and backed away to open the distance. Waving his arms in front of him to ward her away, he said nervously, "I'm perfectly fine, Saber. Really."

Saber tilted her head slightly in confusion. Unsure of what to make of Shirou's condition, it appeared he had recovered so Saber simply took Shirou's words as the truth. Taking a breathe, Shirou gave a sigh of relief before putting distance between himself and Saber.

"Shirou, what shall we do now? It is still several hours before night falls," said Saber.

Thinking for a moment, he said, "Hmm, you're still new to Fuyuki, right? How about I show you around the city?"

"That will not be necessary. I already know this area well," she said.

"Really? You don't look like you're born here. Did you perhaps come to Japan in your past?" said Shirou. He wracked his brain for any famous Western hero that would have travelled to the Asiatic.

Then Saber said something that surprised him. "No, Shirou, you misunderstand. The reason I know this area is because I fought in a previous Holy Grail War," she said.

"Eh!? Really? Did you survive until the end of the war?" he asked. When she didn't respond right away, he turned to see her staring at the ground. Her blonde hair covered her eyes leaving him seeing only the frown on her face.

"I... can't remember..." said Saber. Her brow wrinkled in annoyance as she seemingly tried to recall distant memories. "I know every place we visit but I can't place when I was there or what happened there during the last war. I'm sorry I cannot be more helpful, Shirou."

He sighed. Once again, he cursed his inability as a Magus to summon Saber correctly.

A sullen silence descended upon them as they kept walking. Reaching the main road, Shirou decided to turn right and began heading in the direction of Shinto.

"Shirou, should we not return back to your home?" asked Saber.

"I was thinking we could walk around Fuyuki. It's been ten years. Some parts of the city have changed since then and it's best to have the most recent picture. Besides, the walk might refresh your memory and I could do with the air," he said.

"Hmm... I do not believe that is completely necessary, Shirou. However, if that is what you believe will be helpful..." she said with resignation.

Without another word, Shirou continued onwards with Saber trailing behind.

* * *

**_- You've got a friend in me -_**

The sun began to set on the horizon as the archery club finally closed. Shutting the door behind them, Ayako, Sakura, Taiga and the rest of the archery members left the building.

"Anyways, I have something to do in the teacher's office," announced Ayako before waving goodbye to the rest of the group, "I'll see you all tomorrow."

Normally the club would stay open for another hour or so however with the recent grizzly murders the school had issued a mandatory time restriction on after-school activities. The sky was painted a warm orange as the students finally split off and headed their separate ways at the school gate. Waving goodbye to the others, Sakura and Taiga started heading in the direction of the Emiya residence.

"I thought that was a good practice, don't you think? Tanaka-san and Sato-san appear to be improving quite well since last week."

"Yes, that's right," said Sakura, "for being new to Archery they're learning quite well." Tanaka and Sato had recently joined at the beginning of this semester. Despite only have several weeks of training they had a natural talent at Archery. Sato herself was quite outgoing when she wasn't shooting and often helped the other first years with their Archery chores before the club closed for the day. "I think they're a great addition to the club."

"Although I am disappointed with Shinji performance. He's the vice-captain," she said in a scolding tone, "he shouldn't be skipping meetings like this. It's really irresponsible of him. Just because the tournament is still several months away doesn't mean he can simply shirk his duties like that. Don't you think, Sakura?"

Knowing what Shinji was doing and why he was skipping school, she kept silent and let Taiga continue. Unconsciously, she idly rubbed her left hand where her command spells lay.

Taiga gave a loud sigh. "I wonder what would have happened if Shirou had decided to be vice-captain instead of Shinji. He was always so serious and focused when he practices with us.

As they turned the corner they saw a cloaked figure, the person's back turned to them, casually walking in the same direction. She was clad in a navy blue cloak, the edges embroidered with a lattice of white crosses. Approaching closer, Sakura thought she recognized the person.

* * *

_It had been raining heavily for three days straight before finally breaking that morning. Before leaving the house, she had decided to take an extra umbrella just in case. Shirou had left in such a hurry she doubted he remembered to bring one in case it began raining again. Catching up with him during the afternoon break, he said, "That's alright, Sakura. I have one in my locker.'_

"Oh..." she said glumly. She should have known. Of course he would have kept one at school; it had been raining for three days already. She felt so stupid.

With a slight smile, he rubbed the back of his head nervously, "If you hadn't reminded me this morning I would have forgotten to bring one," he said, "thanks for looking out for me again, Sakura."

Warmth spread to her cheeks at his words. Thinking back, she did remember reminding him to bring an umbrella before he rushed off to school.

The bell rang and signaled the end of lunch.

"Anyways, I'll see you after school," he said cheerfully before heading off. She kept watching as his body eventually disappeared in the rush of students.

"Bye, Senpai," she said quietly as she watched him leave. She hoped he hadn't noticed the redness on her face.

The rain had begun pouring down after lunch before turning into a pleasant drizzle slightly before school ended. Shirou was busy helping Issei, the Student Body President of their school, with repairing one of the heaters in a classroom so she headed home alone. It was her turn to prepare dinner so she decided to stop by Miyamachou's shopping district to buy groceries. As she walked in the light rain she was met by an interesting sight. Walking slowly along the road was a woman dressed in a navy blue cloak looking at a large unfolded pamphlet that Sakura recognized was for Fuyuki's bus schedule. As Sakura walked closer she noticed her flipping the large sheet of paper back and forth and looking at the road signs in frustration. It appears she had been walking for a while as her cloak and dark hair were wet from the rain. Her curiosity getting the better of her, Sakura approached the woman.

"Do you need help?" asked Sakura.

Giving a sigh, the woman lowered the paper. "I don't suppose you know which bus around here would take me to Shinto? I'm trying to buy food for a large dinner and can't figure out which bus will get me into the city," she said.

"Shinto?" said Sakura, "that shouldn't be necessary. There's a shopping district nearby if you're just looking for groceries. It's only a few blocks away. Here, I can show you," said Sakura motioning down the road.

"Eh? I mean... I don't want to waste your time," she said hesitantly.

"It's no problem. I'm going the same way, anyways," said Sakura.

After hesitating for several moments, she eventually gave in and began walking with Sakura. Without a second thought, she pulled out the extra umbrella she'd brought for Shirou and gave it to the woman.

"I... uh... Thank you," she said. Her cheeks seemed to bloom red as she took the umbrella. "you're a really kind person." Opening up the umbrella, she then proceeded to remove her wet cloak hood, revealing her tangled dark hair across her face. Sakura gave a quick smile before pointing out her disheveled hair to the woman.

"I forgot to mention," said the woman as she moved the stray strands of hair aside, "my name is Elesia. What's yours?"

"My name is Sakura. It's nice to meet you, Elesia-san."

* * *

That had been over a week ago. It started as a chance meeting but now they had bumped into one another several times after school. Sakura discovered Elesia was staying at Ryuudouji temple and acted as the new cook in payment for the monks allowing her to live there. Every other day Elesia would come down from the temple for grocery shopping and walk with her before they parted ways. In many ways, she enjoyed it. She didn't have many friends at school and enjoyed talking with someone during the silent walk back home.

"Eh? Elesia-san?" called out Sakura.

The cloaked figure turned around to reveal a young woman in her late twenties. Without the rain pouring down, her long raven hair flowed smoothly past her shoulders. Recognized Sakura, Elesia's blue eyes softened as she gave a warm smile. She gave a gentle wave towards them. In her other gloved hands was an empty wooden basket for groceries.

"Hello, Sakura. Good day," said the woman politely as she bowed slightly towards them.

"Hello, Elesia-san," replied Sakura as she bowed in response.

"Eh? Sakura, you know this person?" said Taiga in surprise.

"Yep, I met her several weeks ago when I was going for groceries," said Sakura. "I guess it's kinda funny, but we meet each other occasionally after school. She lives with Ryuudou-san up in the temple."

Taiga perked up at Sakura's comment, "I remember now. Issei did mention a nice woman living at the temple recently. He said she was quite beautiful with fascinating jewel-like eyes. Oh! Don't tell him I told you that," she said sheepishly.

"Not a word," said Elesia with a chuckle. "And you must be Fujimura-san, Sakura's homeroom teacher. I've heard quite a lot about you from Sakura."

"Ooooh?" said Taiga as her she eyed Sakura using her peripheral vision. Like a predator smelling blood, Taiga moved in closer to Elesia. "And what exactly has Sakura said about me?"

Alarm bells sounded in Sakura's head. With her eyes wide, she waved her hands in a quick "no" gesture towards Elesia.

"Hmm... well... lets... see..." said Elesia while feigning deep thought. Each purposefully strung out word only heaped more worry onto Sakura. Behind Taiga's back, Sakura began silently waved her arms back and forth frantically trying to catch Elesia's attention.

"I do remember her saying you did like a good okonomiyaki. Come to think of it I did have a good recipe I wanted to share with her," Elesia finally said. With the mention of food, Taiga's investigation into Sakura evaporated. For a new set of reasons, Taiga leaned closer to Elesia.

"Okonomiyaki? Are you good at cooking, Elesia-san?"

"You could say that. I would like to think of myself an excellent cook," said Elesia with pride, "my most recent experience involved Indian food, but I would like to think my Japanese cuisine is still up to people's standards here. Maybe I could cook you dinner one of these days."

"Really?" said Taiga, her eyes wide like a child waiting for candy. "Maybe you can come by in the future! We have a very good cook at our home. Maybe we could test your dishes side by side."

What was clear to Sakura and anyone else that was watching nearby was that Taiga was in a world of her own. Images of Han feasts and luxurious banquets flowed through her mind, each one greater and grander than the last. Taiga was on the verge of drooling.

Standing politely while holding the basket, Elesia gave a slight chuckle before nodding slightly in agreement, "I would be honoured to cook for your house, Fujimura-san."

"I guess the quickest way to Taiga's heart really is through her stomach," thought Sakura with a sigh. Only when Sakura started tugging on Taiga's shirt did she finally snap out of her stupor.

"Oh, ahem. Anyways, I am curious, Elesia-san, your name is a bit odd. Are you not from around here?" said Taiga.

"Taiga, it's rude to ask those kinds of questions," protested Sakura.

"That's alright, Sakura. You're right, Fujimura-san. My parent's moved to France before I was born and decided to give me a western name. I'm really lucky, in a way, as that allowed me to see the world," she said, "and allowed me to learn many different types of cuisine."

Sakura smiled. She could already see the images of new foods forming within Taiga's head. Her fantasy, however, was broken when Elesia spoke again.

"In any case, it was nice meeting you Fujimura-san, however I believe this is the road where I leave. Good day," said Elesia. With another elegant bow, she began to walk away.

"Well, she seemed like a nice person, Sakura," said Taiga cheerfully.

Waiting for the lights to change, Sakura stared backwards at Elesia in thought. Her hands fiddled together idly as she debated something within her mind. Finally resolving a decision, she blurted out, "Actually, Taiga, I remember Senpai was really running low on food during yesterday's dinner. I think it'd be a good idea if I bought some food home in case we run out today."

"Eh? Really? I didn't think we were running that low," said Taiga.

"We are. And I wouldn't want to bother Senpai with the shopping today. Especially since we're quite close to the shopping district," said Sakura speaking quicker than normal.

After thinking it over for a moment, Taiga said, "Welp, I suppose you are the apprentice chef of the house."

"Alright, thanks!" said Sakura rapidly before rushing in the opposite direction.

Turning around, Taiga called out, "Don't forget to get some..." but found Sakura had already sped away into the distance.

* * *

Running towards Elesia, Sakura gave a shout to catch her attention. Explaining the situation to her, they both continued towards Miyamachou. An odd silence descended on them as they continued on the sidewalk. After several minutes, Elesia finally broke the silence by saying, "Hmm, it's odd. I didn't really expect to see you today given that it's Sunday."

"Today wasn't a school day," said Sakura correcting her, "we met together for Archery practice."

"Ah, of course. I completely forgot. You haven't really talked that much about Archery recently. How is everything going?"

"It was fine..." she paused and thought for a moment, "well... Taiga did make quite a scene today."

"Fujimura-san? That doesn't sound like her at all," she said, her voice dripping with feigned sincerity.

Sakura smiled lightly at Elesia's comment, "She forgot to pack a lunch to the dojo. By the time it was noon she started crawling as if she was dying from starvation. In the end, Mitsuzuri had to go and buy her Bento because she was causing too much noise."

She stopped her tale to watch Elesia chuckle before continuing on, "But the rest of the day was fine. Even though the competition is still months away, Mitsuzuri is diligent and makes sure we train hard. She's really looking forward to the competition this year. Oh! That's right. I forgot to mention we also let some of the juniors finally begin practicing with bows this week. It looks like we have some very talented juniors this year; Especially with Tanaka-san and Sato-san."

Elesia's eyes perked up at Sakura's words, "Tanaka-san again? I remember you talking about him before... Something about challenging Shinji?" They moved to one side to avoid sidewalk construction before they continued walking on.

Sakura nodded, "Yes. Despite being just a junior member, his technique is very good. I could see him being a great archer by his senior year. When I was watching him shoot it seemed like he could even beat Nii-san. Not to mention he's only started using a bow for just over a week." said Sakura. She wasn't even boasting. Tanaka had a natural skill even she didn't posses. It reminded her a lot of Shirou.

"Oooh, 'when you were watching him'? So you like watching him practice?" said Elesia mischievously. Nudging herself closer to Sakura, she asked, "Do you enjoy watching him practice. What's Tanaka-san like? Strong muscles? Athletic? Maybe piercing blue eyes? Does your heart flutter when you think of him?"

"Eh!?" said Sakura. She waved her hands in front of her with wide eyes. "It's nothing like that! Elesia-san. He's just a friend. Really!"

"Ohh, he's a friend now? Didn't you say he was just a team member? Is this the one you've set your eyes on now?" said Elesia as she moved in for the kill. Sakura's cheeks flush red at Elesia's words.

"I told you that's not true! He's just a teammate. He's nothing like that. He's not..." she was about to mention Shirou's name but stopped in time. Her head felt as if it were steaming like a tea kettle.

"The one?" said Elesia finishing her she slowly stopped Sakura's frantically waving hands. "I believe you, Sakura." She gave a small dignified laugh before saying, "Don't worry, Sakura, I'm sure you'll find him someday."

They both stopped at a sidewalk and waited for the lights to change, Elesia with a slight grin on her face and Sakura with her still reddened cheeks. She stared at the older woman with an annoyed look, trying to hide her previously flustered demeanor. However, despite that, Sakura liked talking to her. There was a sense of normalcy when she was with her; the same sense of belonging as when she was with Taiga or Shirou. It made her feel less alone in this world.

"What about you, Elesia-san? Did you ever find...?" Sakura stopped the question; unsure if it might offend her.

The older woman stared off into the distance.. Deep within thought, Elesia looked far away at an image only she could see. They crossed the street without a word. Sakura looked idly down the road as several cars passed on by. Had she gone too far?

Finally, Elesia spoke with a tinge of sadness, "I did. Once. But I gave that up long ago."

Sakura nodded silently in acknowledgement. Walking onwards, a gentle wind blew across them tossing her hair and rustled the Hiba trees leaves that grew nearby. Organising her hair, she looked at Elesia. It was the very first time she had seen her with such a sullen face. She knew she should keep quiet, let the conversation rest and leave Elesia's past be. And yet... there was something that was bugging her. She wanted to... no, she needed to know...

"Did you regret it?" said Sakura, breaking the silence..

"Not at the time," she said soberly. "But I was naive. Foolish. I made a mistake and then he was gone. I guess we were all different back then."

Sakura thought back to Shirou and the Holy Grail War. Lowering her head, she rubbed the spot on her left hand where her Command Spells lay. Even though she had given her right as a Master to Shinji, the decision still lay heavily on her mind. Maybe she was making the wrong decision?

As they continued walking, glanced towards Sakura and saw the sad frown on her face. Elesia's brow rumpled slightly before she broke out a big bright grin and put an arm around Sakura. "That includes you too, dummy," she said energetically before shaking Sakura's shoulder, "make sure you don't let life just pass you by either. Life isn't just about school and clubs, Sakura. Take the advice from someone who's lived it." She finished by ruffling the top of Sakura's head.

Even though it was blatantly obvious Elesia was attempting to cheer her up, Sakura couldn't help but smile at Elesia's goofy behaviour. Still trying to fix her hair from Elesia's rubbing, they stopped at an intersection waiting for traffic to pass.

"Oh, I just remembered, Sakura," said Elesia. Her demeanor turned serious. Turning to her, she withdrew a plum-colored umbrella from her cloak; the same umbrella she gave her the day they first met. Bowing down as if she were the Emperor himself, Elesia offered the old umbrella back to Sakura. "I'm truly sorry, Sakura. I should have returned it the day after but I completely forgot. Please forgive me."

Surprise was the first thing that came to Sakura. The umbrella itself was nothing special. In fact, it was the same as any normally umbrella you could find in Fuyuki. Then came the sound of muffled chuckling as Sakura tried to suppress her laughter at the lunacy of Elesia's actions.

"You're an odd person," she said with a smile, "I forgive you, Elesia-san, but please keep it." Grabbing a hold of it, Sakura gently pushed it back into Elesia's hand. "Think of it like a present. Besides, don't you need it more than I do? You didn't even bring a new one just in case it were to rain."

"Oh... I... umm... Thank you..." said Elesia. Her cheeks puffed red at the realization of her mistake.

Clasping her hands behind her back, she continued walking, "Now why don't you tell me about that recipe you mentioned to Fujimura-sensei. I'd like to surprise Senpai and Fujimura-sensei when it's my turn to cook tomorrow."

Elesia recovered quickly and kept up with Sakura's strides. Continuing their walk towards the supermarket, they continued talking, "It's relatively simple really. I would like to think of it as a fusion between Japanese and Western styles but..."

* * *

_- Red -_  
_Rain soaked the soft grass and cloth hood that she wore. She looked at the white tulips she held within her hands. An insignificant recompense for the sins she had done. Taking the bouquet, she neatly laid the white flowers on the laminated marble on the ground._  
_"I hope you like them" she said to the silent stones before her. The only response was the soft pitter patter of the rain around her._


	7. Iceberg

**- Threads of Fate -  
- Chapter 5 -**

**Day 4: February 4th  
- Iceberg -**

Shirou walked with Saber along the sparsely populated streets of Shinto. Towering high above him stood the skyscrapers that cast shadows upon the landscape beneath them. As it was the weekend, barely anyone could be seen walking around city streets; only the odd truck or passerby showed up here and there. Besides that it had been mostly quiet for the last half hour. They continued walking past the glimmering structures of glass and steel.

Truth be told, Shirou had taken this walk around the city for his benefit as much as hers. The memories of that dream were still fresh in his mind as if they had happened only several hours ago. After the heat of the dream, the cool feeling of the night air helped to clear his mind. When he was younger he would sometimes leave the house and wander around the yard or the empty roads until the dream finally faded from his mind and he felt like he could breathe again. It helped clear the feeling of the choking smoke and scalding fire away. Taking a deep breath of fresh air he looked at Saber.

At the moment, Saber was looking away from him at one of the skyscrapers that had been constructed recently. The loose strands of hair above her head waved gently in the wind as she walked calmly beside him. Even though she tried to hide it, Shirou noticed the actions that belied the alert warrior underneath her calm facade; a subtle glance down the darkened alley, a quick shift as she moved herself between him and a stranger, or a fleeting pause as she scanned up and down an intersection for new threats. Even during the calm of the day she was vigilant.

He tried to imagine her wearing a black suit like the ones the media always showed bodyguards wearing; perhaps with midnight black gloves and her hair tied back in a ponytail. Utterly silly.

However, quite like a bodyguard, she didn't talk. As they walked through the city he had tried to start a conversation with her several times but failed. Despite his attempts at light conversation, she had been quiet for most of the day. It wasn't that he had been too shy to talk to her... well... actually, that was part of the issue. The main problem, however, was that she didn't seem to want to talk about herself much.

Most of her responses had been simple curt yes and no answers or "whatever you choose should be sufficient for my needs." His other attempts at striking up a conversation had been deflected just as deftly, and so they continued onward in silence.

Eventually they reached their last destination: the burnt park within Shinto. It was here that the giant conflagration had taken place 10 years ago. As he walked along the park's cobbled path he thought about how little the area had changed. The city had tried to change the area into a park but somewhere the plans must have fallen through. A park was supposed to be vibrant and full of life. Children should have been having fun with other kids as their parents looked onward. Lovers should have lain on the open grassy plain; enjoying the limited sunshine.

There was none of that here. Grass the color of hay rustled with the wind as they walked into the park. The cold winter months had stripped most of the trees of their leaves, leaving only their seemingly lifeless figures standing. As he followed the cobble path he thought about how the area seemed more like a graveyard than a park: empty and desolate. When he visited here before work he felt as if he was the only soul that came to this place; as if this land was cursed and warded people away.

Stopping at a park bench Shirou put one foot on the bench and gazed off into the distance. He thought about all that had happened here, of the hundreds of lives that were lost that day. He often wondered why out of all the people there he had been the only one that was saved. Though the ash and fire were gone, the fire had permanently left its mark. He shivered; not all of it was from the cool air. There were too many memories here...

Turning towards Saber, Shirou saw her standing several steps back looking off into the distance, her arms hugging her sides and her hands clenched nervously into fists. In the distance Saber watched the sickly yellow grass wave in the gentle wind but it was clear to him she saw more than just the grass before her; her eyes distracted and looking far off. He called her name and she broke from the reverie she had been under.

He called out again, "Saber? Is everything alright?"

Saber's eyes focused towards him. Placing her arms back down at her sides, her expression returned to that controlled neutral look she always had. "Everything's fine Shirou. In any case, should we head back? It appears evening is approaching." With a suspicious amount of haste she tried to hurry past him.

Shirou, however, wasn't convinced and placed his hand upon her shoulder, stopping her from walking away. "Saber, I know I'm not the best Master to help you win this war, but you are still my Servant and, more importantly, my partner. That means being able to trust one another despite our differences. If it's something personal, I'll understand but if it's something that I should know about the war..."

She sighed. As if her strength had been drained from her, she took a seat on the lonely bench and stared wordlessly at the fields of grass. He took the seat next to her and listened as she spoke. "I remember this place at the end of the last Holy Grail war. It was down to me and one last Servant: Archer. Even though I had a proper Master, I could not best him. In the end, even though I hadn't defeated Archer, my Master used all his Command Spells to force me to destroy the Grail." She paused but her eyes continued roaming the park, seeing images that he could not. "All I remember after that was the explosion... a wave of fire that destroyed brick and melted steel... and the remains of the town. With the Grail destroyed, I vanished soon after."

She turned to face him now. Her eyes tinged with sadness, "Do you understand, Shirou? I'm responsible for the fire that occurred. I am responsible for all those people." Even as she spoke, he could hear her voice weakening.

"I'm sorry. Everything that happened ten years ago was my fault," she spoke, her voice now so quiet he could barely hear her. "H.. Had I been stronger, none of that would have happened." She hung her head down in shame. She clasped her hands together in front of her and fidgeted nervously.

His mind stopped and his breath caught in his throat; unsure of what to do. He remembered vaguely after that fateful day, when his skin was still healing from the harsh burns from the Fuyuki Fire, that he imagined some horrible monster had brought such horrible destruction to his home and life. Only someone completely evil and devoid of emotions could have done such a thing. His time with Kiritsugu, however, had let all that fade away like wisps of smoke in the wind. Looking at Saber, however, he didn't see a monster or any evil.

He remembered the beautiful knight silhouetted against the moonlight that had rescued him from Lancer. Her regal pose radiated an aura of strength that had given him pause simply from looking at her. Compared to the bowed figure before him... It was wrong... Someone as strong as her shouldn't be stricken with remorse like this.

Silence permeated the air and each second seemed to make Saber even more nervous. Shirou's mind contemplated what to say, stuck between the urge to see the knight smile once more and the urge to lash out at her for all that had been lost. Finally, he made up his mind.

"It's okay," he said softly.

His response caused Saber to look up in surprise, her eyes filled with uncertainty. Moving closer to her, Shirou gently cradled her petite hands with his own. The skin felt coarse, most likely from the years spent honing her skills with her sword to an art, yet they still retained a certain softness to them.

"You probably didn't know, but I was in that fire. All those years ago... before Kiritsugu saved me. And although I can't speak for the people now gone, I forgive you... because you're not a heartless killer or a monster. Because you never wanted any of that to happen and were forced to do it." Shirou said.

Her troubled eyes looked deep into his own and Shirou held his gaze firm; lest he show any weakness to her. "You blame yourself. That's only natural. You were forced to watch as everyone died all around you. It took me years to stop asking 'why was I saved while everyone perished around me.' I can only guess it must be worse for you, since it seems like yesterday."

"And you... got past all of it?" she asked,

"No," he replied with the shake of his head. "But I learned to live. I learned to do my best to help everyone around me to make this life worth it. I learned to live with my past and move on so that I wouldn't squander this second chance that was given to me. To prove the reason I was saved wasn't a mistake."

He shut his eyes as he fought back the memories of that night. He was aware of the hypocrisy within his words. On certain certain nights, he still saw the fire in his dreams... the smoke... the cries for help that would never come... dreams that still haunted him to this day. Yet none of that mattered. Right now, all he wanted to do was see her smile again.

He gave her a smile before holding her hand tight and saying, "But even beyond all that...In this war, it's our responsibility to make sure another... Emiya Shirou doesn't happen again. To make sure the power of the Grail doesn't fall into the wrong hands."

Finally, Shirou opened his eyes to see Saber returning a partial smile towards him. "I... yes... You're right. We'll make sure such an event doesn't happen again in this war," she said quietly. Closing her olive green eyes she exhaled a breath before hiding her emotions behind a mask of calm. She stood up and, although he could still see she was shaken, that natural aura of calm and regality he associated with her had returned.

"I feel... better. T...hank you for that, Shirou. Sh... Shall we continue on then?" she asked.

He could only smile at her response. He looked towards the sight of the sinking sun. "Let's go home. I think we've walked enough for today and I'm sure you're hungry by now. I'm not sure what you're used to eating but I'll make a wide variety of dishes today and see which one you like." His smile broadened as he heard her emit a muffled sound of joy and her eyes looked at him with renewed vigor. With that, they headed back.

Trailing slightly behind Shirou, Saber looked back at the empty fields of grass. Quiet, almost to the point of silence, she muttered to herself,

"If you really knew, could you forgive me so easily?"

* * *

**_- Show no fear -_**

The sun had almost set by the time they reached the familiar road that led home. There had been a calm silence as they both walked back; different from the silence earlier in the afternoon. It seemed more natural, like taking a breath of air after a long dive. Looking back towards Saber, it seemed as if she had regained her stoic composure once more.

Stepping through the entryway into the Emiya residence, they took off their shoes before heading towards the main room. As they walked through the sparsely lit hall, Shirou felt as if he was forgetting something. Something very important. Something... dangerous.

"Shirou! It's about time you got back. I'm huuuungry..." came the voice of Taiga as her soft footsteps headed towards them.

**WARNING: A DIRE THREAT, TAIGA FUJIMURA, IS APPROACHING FAST. WARNING.**

He felt the blood drain from his face at Taiga's words. His breathe went shallow and he had to clutch the wall to keep from falling over. This was not good... If he didn't handle this correctly then he would definitely die. Sweat dripped down his back as he tried to think of some way out of this dangerous situation.

"Shirou? Is everything alright? You seem pale..." said Saber.

"Eh? Shirouuu? Who's that?" called Taiga from the main room. He could hear her dainty footsteps moving closer, signaling his doom.

He thought he felt his stomach twist three times over and the world seemed to waver in his vision. This was definitely bad. Retreat was no longer an option now. That meant he'd have to confront his fears head on or face destruction. Forcing himself to walk forwards with confidence he didn't feel, he went forth to meet this great foe. Gathering what strength he had remaining, he called out, "Hello, Taiga!"

"Shirou, you're back late," said Taiga as the upper part of her body leaned into the hallway. "Is that Sak..."

"..."

"..."

The hallway lay silent as Taiga stared mutely at the both of them; A silence that echoed and ceased all other noises. For long moments, they stood there frozen and stared at one another.

"Shirou... Who's that?" asked Taiga.

His heart raced as he tried to think of an answer that would please Fuji-nee. "Ah, Her name is Saber. She's a foreigner and we'll be taking care of her for a while." Even as he spoke he knew those words sounded weak. Thoughts raced within his head. This explanation wouldn't do for Fuji-nee; she'd need something more concrete to satisfy her.

Stuttering for several moments, he rapidly said, "She's a distant acquaintance of Kiritsugu. She came here looking for Kiritsugu but only learned of his death when she arrived. I was talking with her and showing her around town today, that's why I was late." Finished talking and let go of the breath he realized he had been holding. "Saber, this is Fuji-nee. She's been my guardian ever since Kiritsugu died."

Taiga's face was frozen in a suspicious stare as she walked towards them. Her gaze wavered between the two of them as if she was sizing up which one to attack first. "Is... that... right..." said Taiga, carefully punctuating each word. Her eyes focused on Saber.

"In that case... You there, Saber-san, explain to me why you came here," said Taiga

"Fuji-nee, D..." Shirou began to say.

"Be quiet, Shirou. I asked Saber-san. Well?" said Taiga as she looked up and down at Saber.

Silence. Shirou could feel his heart-rate rise as Saber stood mutely. Finally, she gave a slight nod, "Shirou is correct. Kiritsugu made many enemies overseas before he retired. He said to me that if anything were to happen to him, I should look after Shirou and protect him from any possible enemies. My only regret is that the message about his passing did not reach me sooner. I am here to make sure there are no enemies that may threaten him. At home or from abroad."

"Oh? really..." muttered Taiga. She placed both hands on her hips as an arrogant smile crossed her lips."That's a shame then. Shirou already has a protector. Besides, I don't need anyone who's weak protecting him so you can feel free to go back home."

For a moment, he thought he saw Saber smile but then it was gone. In fact, it seemed her outward appearance had turned even colder. Adjusting her footwork, Saber switched her footwork into a balanced battle stance before speaking, "That's good then. We are in agreement. The weaker one should leave."

Saber looked Taiga directly in the eye and said, "Then... shouldn't you be leaving?"

* * *

Shirou's head still felt as if Berserker had played football with it. From the way the floor was oriented he thought he might have been lying down but he couldn't be sure given how much his head throbbed in pain. Above him were Sakura and Saber, both trying to comfort and heal his shattered skull. He vaguely remembered Fuji-nee doing something ridiculous by challenging Saber to a duel of skills.

Saber, being the knight of honor, obviously accepted. Then things became weird. He wasn't sure how, but Fuji-nee pulled a shinai seemingly from thin air. All he knew was that he took his eyes off Fuji-nee to glance at Saber and then Taiga was holding a shinai she'd procured as far as he was aware, from either her pants or some hidden compartment within the main room. The thought that Fuji-nee was hiding shinais in every corner of his house to protect him was both endearing yet unsettling at the same time.

The older school teacher swung down with the wooden sword and predictably missed, the blonde servant easily sidestepping what must have been to her trained reflexes an impossibly slow swing. With a loud scream, Fuji-nee swung her sword again and again; each attack being nimbly dodged by Saber.

If anything, it had seemed as if Saber was playing with her. With every swing, Saber always seemed to be able to dodge at the last second. If the rise in volume of the Archery Teacher's shouting had been any indication, Fuji-nee's frustration grew with every swing. Soon, Saber was dashing, leaping and dodging frantically around the living room table as the Fuji-nee followed her around.

It was after the crazed sword-wielding woman narrowly missed the TV and the cup on the table that he decided to intervene. Standing between Fuji-nee and Saber in front of the living room door, he shouted at both of them.

"Alright, that's enough!" he'd said.

Several things happened in that time. Sakura had evidently arrived home several moments before. The sound of Sakura opening the door into the main room caused him to turn his head away from Fuji-nee; in retrospect a dangerous thing to do. That distraction was all Taiga needed. Seeing an opening, Taiga sidestepped his body and swung at Saber's small form; a strike easily dodged by the Servant. Unfortunately, Sakura's arrival and sudden proximity to him caused Shirou to take several steps back, leaving him right in the path of Taiga's strike.

As such, the first thing Sakura saw when she came home was Taiga knocking Shirou right on the head. Coupled with Saber's appearance, it probably would have been annoying for him to explain everything to Sakura. Luckily for him, someone else would have to do that as he saw the darkness of unconsciousness close around him.

* * *

"Waaaah! Saber took Shirou away from me!" cried Fuji-nee. The wailing woman handed her rice bowl towards Shirou.

Shirou sighed. As usual, his guardian was overreacting once again. Taking the bowl, he refilled it and returned it to the grieving Fuji-nee. It wasn't as if he was leaving the house forever. They'd just be having another person living at the house till the end of the war. It wasn't as if the house was lacking in space. There were enough spare rooms and space to accommodate almost a dozen people. He tried to explain this to the crying school teacher, but she only bawled further.

Really, Fuji-nee was probably more upset over her loss to Saber than losing "protector" status of him. After waking up, Sakura explained Saber had easily disarmed Fuji-nee of her shinai. In the time it took Fuji-nee to realise she'd hit Shirou by accident, Saber had moved in, disarmed her of the weapon and thrown Taiga over her shoulder and onto the floor. The fact that not only had she been defeated so quickly but by a woman both smaller and lighter than her may have also been a factor.

Because of his recent acquaintance with the end of Taiga's shinai, Sakura had been adamant about letting Shirou rest while she dealt with the cooking.. "Besides, I wanted to try a new recipe I discovered," she'd said.

While Sakura began to bring the steaming hot dishes to the table, Shirou passed out the bowls of rice to everyone at the table. A new tasty smell piqued Shirou's curiosity, however, and he began to sniff the air. It was slightly spicy in smell yet he could detect a slight sweetness that tempered the sharpness that came from the spice.

"Sakura, is that... Curry?" asked Shirou. While curry wasn't exactly unknown to their household, Sakura making a dish containing the ingredient was rare.

"Yes, you're right," said Sakura as she brought the final dish towards the table. She set the plate down and he could see the sweet yet spicy smell came from the okonomiyaki Sakura had made. Sakura took her place besides Fuji-nee and they finally began the meal.

Except for Fuji-nee's loud and excessive consumption of Sakura's cooking, the table stayed relatively silent as the rest at the table began to fill their bowls. Taking a piece of the okonomiyaki, he cut it and took a bite. The curry mixed well with the other spices in the dish and the egg's texture was pleasantly soft yet being cooked enough to hold all the ingredients together.

"This is quite good, Sakura," said Shirou, savoring the rest of the okonomiyaki.

"Yes, it is quite delicious," said Saber as she finished her bowl of rice.

"Thank you, I wasn't sure if I made it correctly," Sakura replied with a nervous smile. Her cheeks turned red in a nervous gesture as she focused her eyes on a spot on the table to avoid eye contact with Shirou. Really, she had always been too shy and modest for her own good. Even if there was something that bothered her she would never mention it, and instead bare with the problem. Which reminded him...

"Sakura, what do you think about Saber staying here?" he asked.

"Eh? Saber?" she said in surprise. Her expression reminded him of Shinji's expression when Taiga had caught him sleeping. "I'm not sure if I should say anything. After all, I myself don't live here. I'm not sure my opinion should affect your choice regarding Saber."

"Don't be silly Sakura. You're essentially family, just like Fuji-nee. Your opinion is important," said Shirou.

She returned a pleasant smile to him. "Thank you, Senpai. Very well. If you think Saber staying here won't be a problem then I don't see what issue there could be. She seems quite nice and she's really polite."

She smiled at Saber before returning her attention to her bowl. A soft murmur was Fuji-nee's only objection as she continued to pile more and more food onto her plate; drowning her sorrow with rice and Sakura's cooking. Besides Fuji-nee's constant sniffling, however, the rest of dinner went by mostly silent.

Afterwards, Shirou helped gather all the plates up so that Sakura could finish washing them. It was customary at his home for the cook to also finish washing the dishes, a ritual that developed from living with only Fuji-nee for so long. As usual, Fuji-nee went straight off to the TV, leaving Saber and himself alone enjoying the tea at the table.

"For everything that could have possibly gone wrong introducing Saber, today went exceptionally well," Shirou thought to himself as he sipped his tea. Looking at his watch, he suddenly noticed the time. Due to Fuji-nee's shenanigans and his walk around Fuyuki with Saber, his watch showed it was just past 930; definitely later than normal. While Fuji-nee might have been fine going home this late at night, Sakura was a different matter.

"Fuji-nee, could you get ready to walk Sakura back? It's getting late and I don't think it's a good idea for her to be walking home alone," he said.

"Nope," she said rather quickly. Her replied had a cheerful upbeat tone to it. That worried him.

"And... why is that?" he asked. There was a sinking feeling that was growing in the back of his mind. He didn't like where this was headed.

"Because I'll be sleeping here starting tonight!" announced Fuji-nee. Shirou's brain slowed to a halt as he tried to process what she'd just said.

"What..." he said dumbfounded.

"Yup!" she replied cheerfully. "Sakura-chan, why don't you stay too? I can contact your place to check. It'll be more fun with all of us here."

Sakura looked behind her upon hearing her name called. "Uhhhmmm..." she said in thought. She pondered the decision for a moment, wet dish still in hand, before deciding. "That sounds like a good idea, Fujimura-sensei. We can get to know Saber better while we're here."

"Excellent! Then it's decided!" replied Fuji-nee with a cheer. Shirou rolled his eyes in frustration. The fact that Fuji-nee hadn't even bothered asking him his opinion on the matter hadn't escaped his attention.

Shirou sighed. So this was her backup plan... she couldn't simply allow a stranger like Saber to live with Shirou on his own, so she'd be staying here for all that time until Saber left. This was going to be a problem...

Fuji-nee turned her attention to the blonde foreigner sitting across from him. "Come on, Saber. There should be plenty of room in the back room at the west wing, and we should have plenty of futons. That sound fine to you, Saber?"

He looked back at Saber and saw her eyes opened wide in fear with limbs rigid; her mug frozen between the table and her lips. The look Saber gave towards him was quite easy to translate.

_Oh shit_

"Shirou," said Saber moving closer towards him so she couldn't be overheard, "I won't be able to protect you if I'm in the other room with them. Even though I may be close, it is still too dangerous when Servants are involved."

"I'm not sure if I can do anything about that, Saber. Fuji-nee's father is technically the owner of this property until I come of age. I'd rather not push my luck with her. Besides, it looks like Sakura and Fuji-nee might be staying here for a while so you might as well get to know them better."

"I suppose... I would rather not be force out onto the streets. But Shirou, that still doesn't solve how I will protect you at night."

"Hey! Stop whispering over there, you two," said Fuji-nee. She grabbed Saber's hand and began to pull her towards the door. "Come on, Saber-san. Let's go to the west wing. You can choose which futon you'd like. Well, except mine of course; the one covered in tigers."

With Sakura in tow, Fuji-nee dragged Saber along with her to the west wing. All the way to the door, Saber pleaded with her eyes for Shirou for help.

"Sorry, Saber. It looked like you're on your own for this one," replied Shirou with a sigh.

* * *

Shirou stared up at the ceiling of his room and lay patiently on his futon as the minutes passed by. With Saber under the watchful eye of not only Fuji-nee but Sakura as well, it looked like they'd be stuck at home tonight. As such, he'd be sleeping early instead of patrolling the streets of Fuyuki, which was just as well considering his body still felt tender from his recently healed wounds. If he had to fight or dodge like on that first night against Lancer, he wasn't sure if he'd be able to survive as long as he had on that first night in his current condition.

From the room over, he could hear Saber, Sakura and Fuji-nee's muffled conversation. Idly, he wondered what the girls in their room were talking about. He'd instructed Saber to pretend she didn't speak Japanese if they ever asked her a question related to the war or her supernatural origins, however given how much conversation he overheard in the room over it seemed Saber was doing just fine. Eventually the talk died down and his home was once more plunged into silence and darkness. He let several minutes pass just in case before slipping out of bed.

Opening the door into the yard, he breathed in the chilly winter air. Taking care to not make a sound, he tiptoed across the grass and opened the door into shed. The door still had the gash where Lancer had missed his attack and nearly cut the door in half. Perhaps once the war was done, he could focus on repairs. Sitting down on the soft towel in the center of the shed, he place the bottoms of both his feet together before shutting his eyes. Taking a breath of cool air, he focused on the task at hand.

Ever since Kiritsugu had taught him how to practice magecraft he had done this ritual almost every night. The fact was the tool shed was the only location he could have any privacy to practice in peace. Now, more than ever, he needed to make sure his reinforcement was working correctly. Although he might have been a failure of a magus, with Saber counting on him to win the war he had to have 'something' to support her with; even if it was something as small as reinforcement.

He thought about the other masters most likely looking for each other in Fuyuki. Were they like him and Saber? Or perhaps their relationships were different. Were they fighting one another like Saber and Berserker had last night? Shaking his head, he pushed those thoughts away and emptied his mind before beginning tonight's magecraft practice.

* * *

__  
_- White -_

_Blood was splattered against the pristine white apartment wall and oozed into a pool on the ceramic kitchen flooring. In the air was the smell of ozone and smoke. His breath was low and shallow as he desperately tried to contain the blood pouring from his wound._  
_"I'm sorry! I didn't mean to... " she said._  
_"It's okay..." he said, silencing her words. "We... all make... mistakes."  
"Too many..." she whispered in reply._


	8. Night Shift

**Definitions:**

**Executor **- A rank in the church that is given to individuals that are tasked with killing demons and other heretical beings (such as Dead Apostles). To have the rank of Executor means the individual is a hardened killer that has passed brutal Church training to become mankind's weapon against the supernatural.

**Enforcer** - An agent of the Magus Association. Functionally equivalent to an Executor except instead of burning all traces of a Dead Apostle, they will attempt to preserve their research/knowledge and return it to the Magus Association for study.

**Boundary Field** - an area of effect magical field. The area can vary between a square meter to several kilometers. The effect depends on what the user casted. An example of a boundary field would be the alarm spell in the Emiya Residence.

* * *

**Author's notes: **As usual, any issues you have with the story or comments are welcome in the review section. Criticism is fine as long as it's constructive.

* * *

**Day 5: February 5th**

**- Escalation -**

Standing on the edge of the tall skyscraper, Archer looked out at the city of Fuyuki. Despite the bone-numbing wind at this altitude, he felt no different than if he were atop Rin's house. Servants weren't affected by minor factors like the weather. Looking outward, the tall skyline twinkled like stars as Shinto's office lights brightened the dark sky. From his vantage point and his reinforced eyes, he could see all of the city.

In a city of over two million, he counted only several dozen cars on the streets at the moment; excluding Police patrols and trucks from out of town. The city was paralyzed by what the press had dubbed the Miyama killer to describe the numerous murders and missing people within a very short time span. An entire family dead from numerous deep stab wounds. Several students gone missing in the night. A father that never returned from the grocery store.

Normally he would have attributed it to Servants fighting, but that was before he'd seen that Dead Apostle yesterday. His memory was still hazy since Rin's rough summoning. However, he was completely sure there were no Dead Apostles when he fought in the war. She was another new variable he'd have to factor into his plans; just like the other new people that had appeared in Fuyuki recently. It looked like he'd have to shelve his plans for that idealist idiot until he got a hold of the situation here.

"Archer..."

There was Caster as well. Out of everything in the war, she scared him the most. A Dead Apostle showing up out of the blue was a danger. However, for a brand new Servant to appear... a new Servant with unknown abilities, an unknown Master and a new Noble Phantasm. There were too many unknowns. He would definitely have to keep his eye on her.

"Archer..."

Then there was Saber. Of all the...

"IDIOT SERVANT!"

Archer turned his head at Tohsaka, who at the moment looked as if she was going to slap him if he tested her patience anymore. Her arms were crossed and her eyes had the characteristic annoyed look she used when talking down to Shirou. However, all that did was place a grin of amusement upon his face. It was odd, he hadn't enjoyed teasing Rin this much before his time with Alaya. Perhaps it was a result of him finally know more than the vaunted Tohsaka Rin for once. Knowledge that had been gained for a lifetime of servitude.

"Idiot, when I call your name, you're supposed to answer me," she said.

"Very well, Master Rin Tohsaka. What may your servant, Archer, assist you with?" he said before giving a deep bow.

Rin's only reply was to glower at him some more. She raised her sleeve to reveal the two remaining command spells on her arm. Something told him maybe he'd pushed the limits of her patience for tonight. That was fine, there was always tomorrow...

"I believe you mentioned you were surveying the area bounded field set by Caster here?" said Archer. He didn't let any emotion show on his face lest Rin believe her threat had actually worked. The last thing he needed to do was inflate Rin's already overconfident ego, if that was even possible.

"Ah yes, that's what I was about to talk about... while you were busy day dreaming," said Rin before giving him another angry stare. "Anyways, I've dispelled the boundary fields in the building. It looks like the fields were syphoning lifeforce from the people below. We were lucky I was able to detect it. Whoever set these up put in a lot of effort to make sure they were undetected."

"What would have happened if we hadn't gotten to them in time?" Archer asked. For the past several hours, they had been following the magical signature left by either a master or a servant. Their patrol of the city had led them to Shinto where Rin had picked up the faint telltale signs of several boundary fields. Some of the fields were in restaurants or bars while others covered the entirety of an office building.

"That's the odd thing," said Rin, her eyes observing the bright skyline of Fuyuki in thought. "The field was relatively low power, designed to be undetected. At most, the office workers below would have felt fatigued or sick. Although I'll eventually have to fight whoever set them up... I respect them for adhering to the Magus' code and leaving innocent people out of the war."

"And if you have to kill them? Even if they're a naive idiotic master?" he said.

"You're talking about Emiya Shirou," she said, correctly guessing the meanings in his word. He nodded, agreeing with her.

"He's not our top priority right now. I know him well enough that he won't be a problem for us... not until the end. We can deal with him when the time comes, if we assume he and Saber even survive that long," she said.

"And if he was right in front of you? Alone and vulnerable, an easy target?" he said.

Rin turned towards Archer and his grey eyes met hers. He held his gaze towards her and she towards him. Although he hadn't stated it directly, Rin knew exactly what he was referring to. It was a challenge; a test to see if Rin was ready for the inevitable results of the war. War was unforgiving and cruel, every winner in war had had to trample underneath the bodies of their opponent to reach victory. He had to know if she was ready for that.

Finally, she broke the gaze and stared over the cityscape before her. Moving her hair back in place against the night wind, she said, "If he does something like that, then I will kill him. I already warned him today. If he can't understand those simple rules then he doesn't deserve to be a master."

Archer nodded. It was the answer he was hoping for. He wasn't sure if Rin would do it if the time came but hopefully she wouldn't need to. One surprise blow from Kanshou or Bakuya was all he'd need to kill that fool. The aftermath he was sure he'd be able to talk himself out of with Rin. There was, however, something else that was bothering him at the moment.

"Rin, there's something else. About the Dead Apostle I told you about yesterday," said Archer.

"I've talked to Kotomine. The Church will deal with the matter," Rin replied casually.

"We're not going after her?" he said with surprise.

Rin shook her head. "No. Going after the Dead Apostle will spread our resources too thin. I might not be an Executor but I know what it takes to hunt down and kill a Dead Apostle. It'll take us too much time and energy to kill her and, as much as I hate to admit it, we can't afford to waste our time and energy on something like that; especially if it might lead us to an ambush by another Master. Besides, you said there were two people chasing them down. Let's just leave it to them."

Archer watched the streetlights below as he mulled over what Rin said. Normally, he would agree but what he'd seen made him nervous. His years of experience putting down various rogue Magi and Dead Apostles had given him a keen instinct in tracking these wanted fugitives wherever they appeared. Dead Apostles were notoriously reclusive. They didn't fight Executors or Magus Association Enforcer because they knew they would eventually become trapped and killed. A fugitive doesn't fight the law let alone pursue them out in the open as this Dead Apostle did yesterday. This vampire didn't act rationally and that fact made him nervous, another unknown on his list that was growing too long.

There were, however, certain exceptions. Closing his eyes, Archer remembered several missions where vampires had decided simply to let loose their powers on innocent people. These weren't the times that they wanted more power or more energy to live longer. Those Dead Apostles reveled in the slaughter they brought upon the people in the cities or towns, as if the thousands of deaths they'd caused had been but a game. "You don't shed tears when you cut a tree or crush a bug do you?" had been the response of one of the vampires. His magic had turned an entire city into a charnel pit and the skyscrapers a sepulcher for the once vibrant life that inhabited the streets. He'd made sure to make that Apostle's death a slow and painful one.

His thoughts turned to Sakura, Issei, Ayako Mitsuzuri and Fuji-nee; even after all these years he thought of the silly school teacher as if she were an older sister. If there was even the slightest possibility they'd be harmed because he ignored this vampire... Even with his lifetime service under Alaya, with all the war and death and desolation, he still knew what was right from wrong. He wouldn't let his hate of a naive fool jeopardize the lives of everyone he cared for in Fuyuki, no matter how much Emiya Shirou deserved it.

"Archer?" said Rin in confusion. He opened his eyes and turned to Rin.

"Rin, I disagree with your call. Leaving the Dead Apostle alone is always a mistake. The problem may seem small, but if we leave them alone then all of Fuyuki may be swept up in her machinations. In any case, you'll remember I said her two pursuers were also ambushed and had to retreat," he said.

"I still haven't figured out who those two are," he thought to himself idly.

"Oh, finally remembering something of your past life now? It sounds like you were quite the 'van Hellsing' if you know this much about vampires," she said with a wry smile.

"Possibly. As I said, my combat and general knowledge is returning quite quickly. It is the personal memories that are still hazy" he said, the lie prepared well ahead of time. "Perhaps if I had been summoned properly..."

"Oh shut it! If it wasn't for thosestupidclocks..." Rin's voice slowly died off into a mumble as she tried to find a rationale for her failed summoning other than 'she screwed up.' Her continued grumbling under her breath told Archer she had yet to find one. His lips curled upwards in a smile at her frustration.

However, his enjoyment was cut short as something in the far distance caught his attention. Despite the fact he had been conversing with Tohsaka, part of his attention had been surveying the ground below. It was his duty as a servant to watch over Tohsaka as a bodyguard and, as such, maintain situational awareness around them. He had originally been looking for a certain Berserker and albino loli or perhaps the dark blue of Lancer's clothing who had disappeared after their encounter at Homurahara High school. As for the other servants, it was unlikely for Caster to leave her home territory where she'd most likely set up numerous boundary fields and Assassin, for obvious reasons, would not be seen. What he hadn't expected to see were several hordes of Dead breaking down doors and pouring into houses in Miyama.

"Rin, that Dead Apostle is attacking Miyama," he said calmly. His tone of voice was equivalent to someone ordering coffee.

"...and that damn cat... huh? What is it, Archer?" she said. His words had roused her from her 'blame allocation' stupor. Placing more mana into his reinforcement, Archer's eyes looked far into the distance at the attack. Although the attacks were taking place several miles away, with his reinforced vision he could see clearly even the individual house numbers.

"The Dead Apostle is attacking several locations in Miyama," Archer said, turning towards her. "Rin, what are your orders?"

She looked far off in the direction of the attacks. Her brow was rumpled in uncertainty and she bit at her lip, trying to come to a decision. Finally, she nodded her head as if to convince herself of her decision, before turning towards him. When she spoke, it was stern and controlled; with no doubt.

"Take me to the closest location, Archer," she ordered. He nodded in return. Taking her by the arm, the master and servant duo leapt from the skyscraper.

* * *

Archer watched the entrances of the blood covered room and surveyed the scene before him. Blood splatter and the remains of limbs and bodies lay scattered within the hallway, the remains of the battle scant moments ago. They had arrived to see the house being swarmed by the Dead. Compared to the nightmares of his past, such a paltry force couldn't even compare to the Cities of the Dead he'd had to cleanse. Kanshou and Bakuya had made short work of the several dozen undead. He'd cleaved them. Decapitated and bisected them. Thrown both twin swords through them, the yin and yang swords cutting down a dozen life so much wheat. He'd pierced through five with a single projected sword. With each move the undead corpses had fallen with such ease Archer couldn't even say it was a challenge. With each attack, blood splattered against the wall and pooled onto the floor as he moved forward.

But despite all his power. Despite all his strength and dexterity, he wasn't able to save them.

He looked at the three corpses that lay on the ground. Two parents and a daughter.

He avoided looking at the parents. Both had sacrificed their lives to protect their children for several more seconds, meaning the swarm had fallen upon them first. Their bodies had been nothing bits of red flesh and bleached-white bone by the time he'd hewn through the Dead that had been feasting on their corpses. He couldn't even identify them by their physical features anymore.

Unlike the parents, he could see the fear and desperation in the older sister's final moments. The daughter, she couldn't have been more than eighteen years old, seemed to plead at him as she held the remains of her throat with her hands. Blood soaked the shirt she wore from the neckline almost to her waist. He examined the massive gaping hole within her neck that used to be her throat. Death had most likely been filled with horror and despair as the undead had piled on top of her, their expressionless faces closing in to feast upon her in her final moments.

Taking his cloak, he wiped the blood that marred her face. She couldn't have been older than twenty years old. With reverence, he placed his hand over her face and slowly closed her eyes. He'd had to do this many times to too many good people. Innocent victims, allies from the Church, friends that just wanted to help him... Good people...

Archer closed his eyes and cleared his mind of those memories from long ago, lest they return to haunt him.

He wondered... had she lived long enough to see her killers be cut to pieces by Bakuya and Kanshou before death had taken her? Had she seen how close hope had been? How she had, by throwing herself at her attackers despite how futile it might have been, she had bought the time to save her little sister's life.

Looking up, he watched as Rin placed the final touches on her memory wipe charm. They had gotten into the room just in time to save the youngest daughter before the horde descended upon her. He couldn't be sure, but he guessed her age to be about the same area as Rins. She might have even gone to the same school as her. However, even though she would survive, her life was already ruined. Bother her parents and her sister were dead. His thoughts turned to her future. She was now stripped of everything familiar to her and thrust into a world of the unknown. Where would she go after all of this and how would she go on?

White hot rage burned inside him and he analyzed and ran through different scenarios in his mind. Could he have saved them? Could he have gotten here faster or been more alert when he had been surveying the city? He pushed those thoughts aside. That was neither here nor there. There were other lives at stake and he didn't have the luxury of time at the moment. There would be time to think about his actions later... Too much time...

"Rin. We have to go. The Dead are still out there," he said.

Rin finished her spell. Looking up, she gave him with an armor piercing stare that even gave him pause for a moment. There was a fire in her eyes, one he hadn't seen before even on that night when he fought Lancer. Her knuckles were clenched white in anger and, for a moment, he thought she was going to yell at him. However, the moment subsided and he watched as Rin bottled her anger away. With a simple nod, she followed him outside the door.

They wove their way through the bodies and corpses of the Dead in the house hallways while walking back outside. On the steps of the house, he noted several bodies had begun to wither and dissolve into dust. Without the Dead Apostle's magic binding their bodies to the physical world, Gaia's force would expel their form from the world. The Dead, like the Apostles themselves, were an unnatural element in the world and the physics and rules of reality were exerting against their existence. Without prana or blood to maintain their forms, they would disappear.

Passing through the broken front door, he had walked halfway across the driveway before Rin's footsteps paused behind him. Turning around, he saw her staring backwards at the house they had just left. Her eyes seemed pensive as she gave the house one last look before returning her attention back to him.

"Rin?" asked Archer.

"Let's go, Archer. The other sites might have survivors," she said. Rather hastily, she brushed past him and headed towards the street; her twin-tails flowing behind her from the wind. He watched the back of her crimson jacket as she continued walking away. Although she had said otherwise, the saddened look within her eyes told him Rin didn't believe her own words.

* * *

_**- Crimson -  
**_  
_Blood pooled on the floor from her fatal wounds and stained the wooden stage around her. She felt tired... oh so very tired. Her vision was blurred yet she could still see the damage and the light from fires that resulted from the battle mere moments before. A black silouette was walking towards her, chuckling and clapping his hands in rapid applause._  
_"My my... you are quite the skilled foe. I applaud you for your acting and performance. Long has it been since I have seen such a magnificent play... And yet... it seems such a waste for you to perish so soon. The world can ill afford such an ineloquent end to a talented actress..." the figure said._  
_Too tired to even respond, she felt her head collapse onto the stage and her vision faded to black; unconsciousness taking her._


	9. Inductive Reasoning

**Author's Notes:** I should really make a CSI: EMIYA story one of these days. Dang guy probably looks good in shades and a suit. It will, of course, have to come after my FSN Iron Man story. (notserious)

* * *

**- Threads of Fate -  
- Chapter 7 -**

_**- Inductive Reasoning -**_

"Uhh... Archer..." said Rin.

"Yes, Rin?" replied Archer.

"Where was the place again?" she asked him.

"There," he said, pointing at the house in front of them. Rin shot Archer a withering look, before looking at the home before them. His master was not amused.

They stood in front of a rather normal home. Like many of the newer homes built within the recent years to accompany Fuyuki's growing population, this one had been built by template and stood like a clone to many of the other houses beside it. The home was completely unremarkable except for the fact it was still in pristine condition considering he'd just watched the Dead battering down the house's windows and doors several minutes ago from his view atop the Shinto towers.

"There... as in the broken and Dead infested house before us?" she said with an arched eyebrow. The oozing sarcasm dripping from every word wasn't lost upon him.

With over ten years of tracking Dead Apostles, he hadn't made a mistake like this before, which is why he was certain there was something wrong here. This was the site of one of the attacks, he was certain of it.

From a nearby alley, he watched as a midnight black cat leapt up the brick dividing wall, sending one of the neighbor's ceramic flower pots tumbling to the ground. The unfortunate crash of the tulips caused Rin to turn her head towards the sound.

_Reinforcing his eyes, Archer examined the situation before him. A casual examination of the homes surrounding the target location led to irrelevant data: children going to sleep, a father watching tv, a mother putting her kids to sleep, a motorcycle parked facing the wrong side of the road. This information was inconsequential and he filtered it out. _

_On the front lawn, he noticed three distinctive patterns on the grass. Memories flooded his mind as he remembered the days when he had had to track several vampires across forests and rocky mountains. He reinforced his eyes and examined the tracks._

_He looked down at the first set of tracks imprinted on the lawn. There were numerous shoeprints upon the grass, at least a dozen if not more. The prints seemed random, their paths mingling and meandered between one another, causing the lawn to mix and churn to a muddy mess from the recent rain. From what he could recognized, however, he saw a chaotic mess. These prints were strewn all over the place; shoeprints that weaved like those at a drunken college fraternity party. Some shoeprints dragged, creating muddy streaks following each step, while others their prints slanted left and right like a swaying ship upon the sea. He stopped analysing them, there'd be nothing gained from a more in depth examination._

_He looked at the next set of shoeprints; these ones separate and alone. Unknown to many people, you could tell a great deal about a person simply by looking at their tracks. The shoe's shape and wide dimensions told him the person had been male. Given the recent rainfall, soil consistency, and water penetration rate, he gauge the man's to be at least two-hundred pounds with a shoe size more commonly found in Western countries. The shoe's sole design was flat with minimal traction from the treads, footwear meant for business rather than utility. The heavy slant at the front of the shoeprint along with the wide stride told him the person had been running at a neck breaking pace. _

_The third set of shoe prints, from the inner toe angle and smaller print spacing, told him they were female. The flat shoeprint angle told him she had been walking, although, the way her every fourth step angled sharply to the left or right when she moved to check her surroundings told Archer she had been cautious. It also told him she'd been slow, taking each of her steps with deliberate care. Normally, when a person walked to a location their feet would naturally dig into the ground when pushing forward, creating a slightly heavier imprint at the front of the sole. Her prints were completely level. Archer surmised she was also right handed given the way her right foot strides were slightly longer in length than her left foot._

_All the prints disappeared onto a perfectly level lawn several meters from the front of the house. Checking the footprints, he failed to see any signs of backtracking, although he doubted any of them were trying to evade tracking. It was as if all three set of prints had disappeared into thin air._

_He focused his attention on the house. The front window was large enough that he could peer into the living room inside. The room was lit up and the television was on although he couldn't see anyone inside. It was while examining the room that he found the Dead Apostle's mistake. For all the time spent into an illusion, all it took was a single loose thread to unravel it._

_Creating an illusion was easy. Creating an illusion that would fool people examining it was a considerably more difficult feat. All it took to unravel the best tapestries of illusions was the single tug of a thread._

_He examined the pendulum clock that sat on the wall. The time on the clock was all wrong. This might have been unremarkable if it wasn't for the fact the clock hands were flipping backwards in time. A few moments of watching the clock unraveled the otherwise complex illusion. The hands would move forward by several seconds before, as if by magic, the clocks would reset itself by five seconds. Not move back but literally teleport backwards._

_It was a simple mistake. A simple loose thread._

In the time it had taken Archer to surmise all this information, Rin had looked away from the commotion the cat had made and returned her attention back towards him.

"Archer, we don't have time to waste like this..." Rin said.

"There's a boundary field centered on the house," he said, interrupting her. "It's an illusion to cover the attack. Can you look for it?"

"What... how did you... I mean..." said Rin. Caught by surprise, she quickly recovered her demeanor. With a simple nod she said, "Here, let me check."

Rin slowly approached towards the house, hand held up in front of her. She stopped after several steps and waved her hand back and forth as if she were wiping dust off a shop window before nodding in agreement.

"You're right. The field here isn't strong but whoever made it is experienced with covering their tracks. I couldn't even detect the magical signature until I was right up to it," she said.

Rin placed the tips of her fingers on to what he could only presume were the edge of the Boundary Field before she began muttering an incantation. He watched as runes floated from the tips of her fingers before expanding into a larger circle. Pale blue light shone against her face as she worked to unravel the field.

"Rin, be careful," he said. Tohsaka had a horrible habit of overestimating her abilities, something that led unluckier men Archer had known to an early grave. "Nothing can stop the great Tohsaka Rin," he thought sardonically to himself.

After several moments the illusion shimmered before shattering like a dome of glass, the pieces tinkling in the night sky. The pieces of the mirage slowly disappeared into the air, revealing the beaten house before them. Upon the grass, harsh complex runes glowed blood red before dissipating. Rin turned around to face him.

"See? Nothing to worry about, Archer," Rin said with no small amount of haughtiness. The grin on her face expanded wide. Her victory, however, was cut short by small arcs of electricity that struck her before dissipating into the ground.

"Kyaaaa!" Rin screamed in pain. She flailed around with her arms before unceremoniously tripping on her legs and falling on her behind at the sudden attack. On the grass, Tohsaka muttered some unladylike comments regarding someone's maternal parentage. At least the trap hadn't been able to dull his master's deadly temper. Around Rin's feet was charred grass and he could smell the tinge of ozone and the burnt grass in the air.

"Rin, I told you..." Archer began to say.

"Oh stuff it, idiot Servant," said Rin. The twitch on her face told Archer not to push his luck. "You vampire witch! I'll make you pay for that!" Rin screamed into the air, fists curled in anger. Her cry into the night sky, however, was only met with silence. Archer said nothing in response, although deep down he was trying to suppress a grin at her misfortune. The word he was thinking of at the moment was called Schadenfreude.

He helped Rin to her feet before surveying the scene before him. What was presumably once a well kept garden in front of the house was now a trampled mess. Dozens of shoeprints and bodies had trampled over the delicate flowers and various shrubs leaving an utter mess. The main door was wide open, broken down undoubtedly by the mass of undead bodies just like the attack from before. The front house window was also shattered with bits and pieces of glass stained red with blood. The lights inside were still on but the room within was a mess of upturned furniture and other items.

_In the air, he could smell the putrid stench of fetid blood. There was also something else in the air... It smelled familiar, like a mix of incense and perfume... but he couldn't quite reference it from his memories._

_Nearly invisible on the front lawn lay three small empty blue cylinders, no bigger than his own thumb, with a brass cap at the bottom. Reinforcing his eyes, he identified them as expended shotgun shells; twelve gauge. There were cross insignia precisely etched with silver, the ornate design marked on both sides of the shell. He identified the "Holy Fire" ammunition that certain Church agents enjoyed using; blessed napalm and high explosives wrapped in a simple shell._  
_Although firearms in the Church weren't unknown, they were certainly rarer in comparison to the use of Black Keys. Now he recognized the odd smell of incense in the air, it was the Church's special incendiary oils. Supposedly they were specially designed to be effective against undead creatures, although he couldn't verify that claim. _

_There was one thing Archer recalled, however, that seemed odd. The Church was an insular organisation that was slow to change with the times. As such, Archer found it odd there was no imperfections in the silver cross insignia; every angle and line within the design was perfectly aligned without a micron out of place. He found it hard to believe the Church had suddenly adopted laser etchers for such a rarely used weapon. He'd sooner expect Rin to successfully use a computer._

"Let's go, Archer," said Rin. Her voice was level and calm, the anger bottled away for another time. He nodded and took the lead into the home. Stepping over the cracked and bloodstained main door, he headed into the houses foyer.

_There were three pairs of shoes haphazardly placed inside near the door, each the right size for teens. Comparing the different knot lengths, their tightness and position as well as the different shoe sizes and styles, he concluded there were at least three teenagers ranging from the ages fourteen to eighteen within the premises; all female given shoe type._

Moving through the small foyer, he entered the living room and found it in complete disarray. Furniture and a myriad of random items had been shunted against the walls as if a tsunami had crashed down in the center of the room, leaving a clear path to the hall beyond.

_He scanned and catalogued each item within the living room. A television, its screen shattered, embedded in the left wall. Several vases and its wooden stand broken into pieces from whatever force had struck the living room. Several blankets and three backpacks lay strewn about. Underneath a broken coffee table, he saw a picture of what could only be a family photo; the frame smashed and glass broken from the fighting. A mother, father and small brown-haired daughter posed in front of the living room couch. The daughter seemed younger than Rin and had a cheerful innocent smile upon her face._

There was also sand in the living room, as if an army had emptied trucks of sand within the room. They were the remains of the Dead that had been slain and crushed by Gaia's overwhelming presence.

At his highest magnification with his reinforced eyes, he saw grains of sand moving of their own accord as if they were blown by an unseen wind. He watched as bit by bit they slowly began to disappear into thin air. It took time for the corpses to deteriorate against Gaia's presence and before they finally vanished. Just like humans, you could calculating their time of death if you arrived fast enough. From the size of the piles, they had perished less than fifteen minutes ago. For a normal human, they'd still be warm.

There were still three Dead in physical form and lying in a small pool of their own blood. Each corpse had a massive gaping wound where their chest should have been; fire simmered inside their chest wound and burnt them from the inside out.

_He looked out the house window to where the three spent shells lay on the lawn and then back at these Dead. Three shots, three kills._

Archer heard Rin come up from behind him and she halted in her tracks to take in the scene before them.

"Wow..." she said. He nodded to acknowledge her statement.

"Let's keep going," he said before walking through the room. The house may have been silent but there could still be lingering Dead around. He made sure to sweep the corners and keep his guard up. Only fools and corpses let their guard down near Dead Apostles. As he headed towards the hall, the heavy stench of acrid oil mixed with burnt flesh reached his nose.

He stepped into the hallways across from the living room and paused at the gruesome sight. Something that resembled a human body lay dead at his feet, however, it was a mere mockery of the human form. Muscles overflowed from the body and seemed to cover the body like some form of tumor. What had been hands and feet had transformed into massive razor sharp claws that could easily skewer a man with a single thrust. Its head was devoid of hair and the creature's mutations had covered the face, forcing it to reply upon its hearing. It's mouth was wide open revealing shark-like teeth that could rend a body to pieces in moments. Archer couldn't even tell if the creature was male or female anymore. The only trace of humanity were the shreds of clothes that clung to the body. These mutations had completely warped the body, leaving a deathly grey mass of muscle and razor sharp claws and teeth; a deadly biological weapon.

_He recognized the signs of magic before him because it was the same type of magecraft he used: Reinforcement. However, if his reinforcement was like a well maintained rifle then whatever had happened to this creature was more like a crudely made blunderbuss. The creature's lifetime would have been measured in mere hours if it were lucky. The thing was like a runaway train and the engineer was shoveling in more coal than the engine could even use, powerful for its original frame but the power was short lived. The strain of reinforcement on the body would rip muscles, tear arteries and rupture organs; destroying the body even while providing it unnatural strength._

Luckily, the flaming and gaping hole in its torso and its unmoving form told Archer it was already dead; its mouth hung wide open in its death throes. In the hall in front of him lay six more of the enhanced corpses lying dead upon one another... and sand... piles upon piles of sand. Whatever had happened here, they'd missed the big battle.

Blood was smeared and splattered across the hallway walls in long and short streaks as if the white walls were some artistic canvass. There were two other rooms that forked from the hall and one at the end, but only the room at the end had lights on. The door was battered and the wood containing deep gouge marks from sharp sharp claws, most likely from the four enhanced Dead piled in front of it. In the center was a perfect circular hole easily larger than the size of his fist, the edges burnt black.

_The four enhanced Dead at the door had been cut apart by what Archer estimated to be a wide beam of energy roughly six inches in diameter. Looking at the wounds, blackened charring inside and outside the wound told him it had been high enough temperature to cauterize anything it touched. Looking at the wall behind him, he saw a long horizontal scorch mark that had burnt through the drywall, ; the width about the same size as the hole in one of the Dead._

_However, unlike the "Holy Fire" rounds from before, there was no fire or flames. Analysis? The only thing that matched this description was a direct energy weapon. Laser weaponry._

_Utterly impossible. _

_Laser technology like that didn't exist yet; at least... nothing existed like this that didn't require a truck sized power source. That left the Magus Association and its casters and spells. He remembered back to the two unknown Dead Apostle hunters from last night... It seemed like they'd partnered the gunman with a mage... or was it more like they assigned the mage with a protector?_

He glanced across his shoulder, expecting Rin to be right behind him, only to find her missing. Looking back into the living room, he saw Rin moving aside pieces of glass to pick up the broken family photo on the floor.

_Her eyes went wide and he could see pulse was increasing and pupils dilating. Analysis? Most likely a relation between our victim. Results: Increase in erratic behaviour and higher urgency from Rin. New factors accounted for._

She dropped the book and quickly rose to her feet. "Archer, let's go!"

With renewed vigour, she ran towards him into the hall. Rounding the corner, her eyes grew even wider she halted mid step; her fear stymieing her courage and anger. Tohsaka's magic crest glowed under her crimson shirt as she flooded her circuits with prana.

He placed a reassuring arm on her shoulder. "They're dead, Rin."

Rin nodded wordlessly at him but didn't seem convinced, her eyes still staring at the monstrosities lying in pieces before her. Archer could hardly blame her. Even for a Magus, fighting horrors like these things wasn't common. Only the Executors of the Church, trained killers, dealt with issues like these on a daily basis. That... and a foolish man that had wanted to be a hero.

Taking the lead once more, he stepped over the enhanced corpse's body and headed down the hall, opening and clearing the rooms one by one with Kanshou in his hand; the hall too narrow for both twin blades. The two side rooms led to empty bedrooms. Behind him, even though she hadn't said a word Archer could feel Rin's presence as if she were shouting. It was the way her once calm and controlled master's feet failed to stay in one place as he moved forward or the way her hands continued to scrunch the bottom of her crimson shirt in nervousness or the way her eyes darted around the hall. She was worried about her friend.

Finally, Archer stood in front of the door at the end of the hall. In the distance, he could hear gunfire echoing in the distance but that didn't matter; there was only the here and now. He readied to himself to kick down the door before a sudden thought came to him.

"No... they couldn't be that stupid," he muttered.

Archer casually turned the door handle and pushed the door open. He had to force himself not to laugh at the situation. He walked through the doorway into what must have been the kid's bedroom, although the room was definitely larger than might be expected, with the walls being painted a welcoming peach cream color that ran against the rest of the white motif of the home. On the bookshelf and wooden desk were cute stuffed animals, manga, and popular anime figures. On the opposite side of the room, a bed frame and several chairs had been forced against the room's window as a temporary barricade.

All of this Archer would examine later as at the moment there were three enhanced Dead in the room. It seemed as if they had been examining various mundane objects in the room but switched their attention towards him at the hint of new prey.

The one nearest to him gave a long hiss, its deathly grey skin growing taut as it flexed its muscles in anticipation, before lunging towards him. Flesh rending claws claws spread wide and its mouth opened to reveal bloodstained teeth ready to dig into Archer's flesh. Its two friends were right behind it, baying for blood.

Archer hurled Kanshou forward and the midnight black blade pierced the grey hide of the first Dead, slicing through its shale color skin and severing its spine. The creature flew backwards and embedded into the wall and hung limp like meat upon a butcher's hook. Bakuya materialized in his grip even before its sister blade had flown from his hands. With years of practice, he threw the other twin sword that bisected his next opponent. Blood and organs spilled to the floor in a messy heap.

That left his final opponent, the last Dead still running towards him. Both hands still empty at his sides, Archer simply shook his head before giving a cocky grin at his opponent. He took a step back and placed his weight on his rear leg before raising both arms in a fighting stance... and then simply waiting. Prana flowed through his body as he prepared for his attack.

The thing leapt forwards off the ground, one of its claws held behind it with the intent of disemboweling the servant. Saliva dripped from its open maw as it gave off a feral growl that would have shaken even knights of the Church... But Archer was no mere knight

Archer replied in kind, giving off a deep deafening warcry that made Rin's ears ring behind him. Stepping forwards he delivered a lethal thrust kick to the Dead's chest. The blow connected with the power of a tank shell, sending a shockwave through the room that rattled cups and fluttered paper. The creature was hit with such force that the sound of its ribcage and other bones breaking could have been heard outside the house. The Dead flew into the wall behind it and fell forwards in time for the tanned Servant to grab the beast by the head and slam its misshapen head with his knee, sending the body flying upwards almost to its full standing height. With speed that would have appeared like a blur to Rin, he moved behind the Dead and brought the heel of his boot down on the back of the creature's knee, breaking bone, and tearing muscle and tendons together before finally finishing the creature off with an elbow down upon its spine with a sickening crack. Finally, after all this, did Archer let the Dead fall to the floor for the last time.

_Analysis. Sternum broken, every rib cracked and massive hemorrhaging of its internal organs. Skull shattered and brain liquified. Left leg useless and spine broken in two locations. Conclusion: Threat neutralized._

From the doorway behind him, Rin simply stared in silence. "My God, Archer..." she said, eyes wide in amazement. He replied with a simple smug grin.

He looked around the room once more.

Blue shells littered the room along with.40 S&W and .45 ACP brass casings. On the carpet were the same muddy shoe prints he'd seen outside. There was a wide bedroom window that revealed the the backyard outside. He looked outside.

_The smoldering corpses of over a dozen of the enhanced Dead lay dead, like the ones before. Most of them lay dead facing the building, although three appear to have been... running away? No... He looked at the scene again_

_Scuff marks and fresh claw marks atop the wooden fences told him where the Dead had crawled or leapt upon the walls. The wooden gate to the backyard had been broken open by one swift kick, the fresh mud and bootprint upon the frail gate easy to see with his reinforced vision. On the lawn was an abundance of muddy tracks on the soggy grass, mostly claw prints but he could make out two distinct shoeprints heading away from the house._

_The footprint depth was slanted forward indicating more pressure on the soles of the feet... they had been sprinting. Both footprints led away from the house to the perimeter fence and beyond._

So... the two Dead Apostle hunters had made a run for it... Pushing out after they'd found themselves being surrounded and outnumbered by these new Dead. That made sense... That just left where the three girls were.

He turned his attention back into the room to see Rin standing in front of the bedroom's side bathroom door. She traced her finger down the length of the marred door before turning back to Archer. "There's a boundary field on the door here..." She said, before pointing to the last two runes that were inscribed on the door. "These fields are normally used to prevent people from entering a location."

"Like the boundary fields Dead Apostles use to hide from the Church and Magus Association?" said Archer.

"Yes... How do you know that...?" said Rin, giving him a quizzical look. He shrugged.

"I seem to know a lot about hunting vampires..." he said. "More than you could possibly realize," finishing the sentence in his head.

Rin turned back to the door and studied the design. "Although the design is considerably less intricate. It's odd though... the inscription technique is definitely different from the boundary field that was outside," she said.

"Shall I?" said Archer stepping forward as he traced Bakuya in his hand, ready to cut straight through the wood door. However, Rin gently placed her hand upon his and stopped him. Tracing figures upon the door, she muttered a simple incantation. Several bright blue runes flashed upon the door for a moment before fading. A silent moment passed before, with a click, the door creaked ajar.

"Saegusa? It's Tohsaka. Are you in there? Are you alright?" called out Rin as she moved to open the door with Archer following close behind. He could smell the tinge of copper that emanated from the washroom and felt a sinking feeling begin to grow from the pits of his stomach. This would not end well.

They entered the bathroom together. It was dark inside, with only the light from the bedroom to illuminate the sterile white bathroom within. However, even with the lack of light Rin could see the crimson stains that covered the shower curtains. She stood, looking at the white curtains like a child too scared to open a shadowy closet door.

"Rin..." he said. What did he want to say? Don't open it? Stay in the other room? Turn away? He wanted to say them all but he knew it'd be futile. Rin Tohsaka wasn't one to turn away at the last step, especially not with someone she knew involved.

Taking the shower curtain by the edge, Rin ripped it aside.

Her first expression was shock, as Rin's brain processed the scene before her. What followed was disgust as she examined the sight of the gruesome murders. Finally, nausea overcame all of her other feelings and she pushed past him into the fresh air of the bedroom outside.

Taking a moment to make sure Rin would be alright, he turned back to examine the blood bath before him. Three girls lay dead with numerous lacerations and stab wounds in the bathtub.. Blood soaked their clothes and collected into the tub drain.

The youngest of the three girls sat peacefully in the corner of the tub, her headed nodded off against the wall. Dried blood was caked against her short auburn hair and her shirt; the cute lion and giraffe design on the front juxtaposed with the death around it. A single penetrating incision to her stomach had ended the young girls life, eviscerating her body and leaving a gaping hole in her abdomen.

The second girl wore plain glasses and had flowing grey hair that slid past her shoulders. She sat motionless next to the first girl, a single slash wound ran along the width of her throat that had leaked enough blood to stain her entire white dress shirt. _She must have enjoyed playing an instrument, perhaps a violin, given the calluses on her fingertips. _

The last one, skin tan from the sun and body lean and athletic, lay stretched at the end of the tub with a single stab wound to the chest.

However... something seemed off.

_Fresh blood smelled like copper or just a strong smell of metal depending on the environmental conditions. Left alone to dry in a small room for several days and it would drive most inexperienced people to the ground, upending their last meal. It was the smell of rot, like a full roast several weeks old, that he could smell right now... The scent of death... which was odd considering the attacks had only started mere minutes ago._

He examined the blood on the shower walls.

_The blood splatter was all wrong as well. He looked around the room then back at the girls. These deep stab wounds should have produced incredible arterial spray; especially with a slit throat. Droplets should have dotted the bathroom mirror, lights and even the ceiling. The blood on the shower tiles were also wrong. If the girls had been killed in the tub, then why was there blood on the outside of the shower curtain yet none on the floor or sink? This was sloppy work he'd expect to see from movies. All shock and show but no substance._

_There was also something missing... If looked as if all three girls had simply laid down and died. They should have been screaming in panic, fighting or struggling against their attacker; the mirror should have been broken, walls dented or tiles cracked from a fight. should have been wide open as their assailants took their lives, the light in their eyes slowly fading as they realized no one would come to save them. _

_It pained him to know that he'd seen enough death to know which ones were genuine and which ones were fake._

Kneeling down next to Himuro, he gently placed his hand upon her neck. From his hand Archer could feel the beat of a strong and rhythmic pulse. Life.

He smiled.

After what felt like a lifetimes of butchering and killing as a servant of Alaya, he'd almost forgotten this odd feeling. It drove away the bitterness in his heart and eased the dread that had been gripping his chest.. at least for the moment. It was was joy. He missed that old feeling... when there'd still been light in his life and hope in his naive eyes.

It was at this time Archer noticed something inscribed on the tiles behind one of the girls. Taking care to shift the unconscious girl to the side, he inspected the glowing runes etched on the tiles; tracing the edges of the inscription with his fingers. Rune creation was similar to handwriting in that they were unique to each caster and the one he was looking at was definitely different from the one that had been made outside... It was too neat... too pristine... and blue too.

Although Archer doubted he'd ever reach Rin's level of magecraft, he at least knew how to disable an illusion boundary field like this. Long years chasing and tracking Dead Apostles and their ilk had made sure he'd had plenty of experience with that. Checking and finding no counter-enchantments like the one that had zapped Tohsaka before, he drained the prana from the runes and depowered the field.

At once, the room shifted around him. As if a wave was washing through the room, all the blood and gore fading away like fresh paint against the spring rain; cleansing the grim scene that previously occupied the room. In its place were three girl, soundly sleeping in the washroom tub.

Archer checked over the other two girls just to be certain before heading back outside into the bedroom where he found Rin sitting silently with her back against the wall. His twin-tailed master hugged her knees with her arms and stared blankly at the empty wall opposite to her, her mind lost in thought. Occasionally, he thought he could hear the occasional muffled sniffle. If Rin had noticed him standing beside her, she didn't show it.

"Rin," Archer said, trying to rouse her attention. Tohsaka's blue eyes didn't move. Archer stepped in front of her and knelt down.

"Rin!" he said louder this time, shaking her by the shoulder. That got her attention. She looked upward to his face.

"Archer?" Rin said, as if she only now noticed his looming form in front of her. He grabbed her by the arms and tried to tug Rin to her feet.

"Rin. Come on," he said, trying to pull her to her feet.

"No... Just... away," she muttered. She shook her head at Archer like a kid refusing to go to the doctors.

"Rin, it was a fake. An illusion. Come on," he said, finally able to pull his master to her feet at least.

"Archer... that's not funny," she said, anger replacing her grief for the moment. He pulled her into the room until she finally saw them. His master froze at the sight, mind unable to comprehend the sudden change of the situation. Her emotions changed from surprise, happiness, shock and confusion as Rin looked back and forth between the girls and Archer. Although her mouth was open, no words came forth. She stood like that, stunned in silence, before she was able to collect her thoughts back together.

Taking a deep breath, she kneeled over one of the girls and placed her hand upon her neck to check her pulse. In the process, the girl groggily began to open her eyes.

"Eh," said the girl sleepily. "Tohsaka Rin?" Saegusa's words were slurred, still under the effects of the spell.

"Shh..." said Rin. "Just sleep. It's alright now." His master muttered a quick incantation and the girl fell back into the darkness of sleep. Without turning around, Rin quietly called his name.

"Yes?" Archer replied.

"Thank you," she said before giving a sigh of relief. Archer couldn't see it, but he knew there was a smile upon her face.


	10. Night Shift II

_**Author's Notes:**_ I should really stop deluding myself by thinking "small" scenes will actually stay at their ( 2000) allotted word limit. If it does seem like I'm focusing on the OC too much, please note I hadn't planned on this. This entire night scene was supposed to be one chapter instead of three. My writing has a way of expanding and growing on the fly. Anyways, the next few chapters should be some Shirou, Rin and Caster action. Assuming small scenes stay small... oh crap...

* * *

**- Threads of Fate -  
- Chapter 8 -**

_**- Thoughts of Fire and Words of Steel -**_

Rin Tohsaka stared into the bright fireplace, embracing the warmth that it brought to her chest and face. Besides the sound of crackling firewood and the clink of fine china, the house was silent. Rin placed the empty china cup down onto the silver tray. She didn't normally use the houses fireplace, the houses heating normally being sufficient, but on this cold winter night it seemed appropriate.

She had modified her three friends' memories after finding them in the bathroom. It had taken her long moments and a considerable amount of her own prana, but she had done it with enough time to escape while the sirens were still in the distance. The memory alterations had take a lot of energy out of her, but the alternative would have been...

Blood. Blood draining down the drain. Blood splattered against the bathroom tiles. Blood on the curtains and blood stained against their clothes. It was everywhere...

Tohsaka shook her head to clear the images from her mind. It wasn't real. She knew Makidera, Himuro and Saegusa were safe; she'd seen to that. However, she knew they had been lucky. Without the intervention from those two strangers, Rin knew things could have been much worse. The illusion she saw could have been reality. And for what? Because some Servant might ambush them? She was the best. Let them come and damned be the consequences. She would kill them all.

One of the blocks of wood collapsed in the fireplace, sending cinders into the air and shooting flames even higher upward. The sudden motion distracted Tohsaka and she unclenched the fist she hadn't known she'd been making. Taking one of the blocks, Rin tossed it into the fire. She found an odd catharsis in watching the wood slowly being consumed by the fire.

Tohsaka's mind wandered to a conversation several days ago. Archer had been talking to her about what her wish would be. Her response was that she had none for the Grail. She wasn't in this war for any wish, she was in it to win. Victory was the objective and the prize. People often asked why men and women climbed mountains and risked their lives to reach Everest's peak. "Because it's there," a climber had said. Her response was no different... and yet... this victory wasn't everything.

Archer had asked her before about using her wish to 'rule the world' instead of letting it go to waste. "The world is just another word for the things you value around you, right? In that case, I've ruled the world ever since I was born. If you're telling me to rule the world, I already do," was what she had said.

She already ruled everything in her world. It was perfect. However, what happened if something dared to attack her world? Even destroy it? Her mind wandered back to the image of her friends, sitting in pools of their own blood... To the girl who was now orphaned, without a sister, father or mother to guide her. What if that had been Ayako? Or Taiga? Could she live with herself if she could have stopped their deaths and did nothing?

The clinking of china interrupted Tohsaka's thoughts once more as Archer laid a new pot of tea on the table while removing the empty old one. It was the third pot Archer had made. "Rin. It was already late when we returned home. I think you should sleep or else you'll be tired if we're forced to fight a Servant tom..."

"Archer, you said you knew a lot about hunting down vampires, right?" Rin asked, cutting her Servant off. For the first time since she returned, Tohsaka made eye contact with Archer.

"Uh, yes. Why do you ask, Rin?" Archer said.

"Back when we were on the skyscraper in Shinto, you were right. I've been ignoring this Dead Apostle for far too long, handing off the responsibility to Kotomine when it's obvious he's too busy with the Grail War. I am the supervisor of Fuyuki. It is my responsibility to oversee the people's safety from these threats. From tonight onward, we change our night patrols," she said. Her gaze returned to the flickering fire.

"How so?" said Archer. A small crease of worry bent his brow.

"It's simple. We're going to hunt this Dead Apostle down. We're going to find her and corner her until there's nowhere left for her to hide. And once we do, _We_. _Will_. _Kill_. _Her_," Tohsaka said, her words clad in steel.

Archer watched the light and shadows of the flames dance across the room and reflect in Tohsaka's aquamarine eyes. The Servant had fought demons and vampires of staggering might without hesitation in his previous life. However, at the moment Archer felt a shiver of fear run up his spine.


	11. Teach me, Mahou Sensei!

_**Author's Notes:**_ You know, I really dislike writing Shirou. I don't dislike him as a character but there are things you know his character would do that you'd go 'you're a bloody idiot and I'm waiting for this to bite you in the ass." He's just lucky he has plot armour that would stop a railgun in canon.

As an author, I will admit that the lack of reviews for this is somewhat demoralizing. Of course, I'm not going to "hold the chapters hostage or else the story gets it," that's rather childish and petty. However, I see fanfiction like movies. They should elicit emotion and wonder. If your movie cannot even elicit a single "Huh, that's cool" from the audience then that piece of fiction is a failure. Indifference is the same as negativity when it comes to fiction; perhaps even worse. At least that's the way I see it.

Anyway, I estimate it'll be another three weeks till the next chapter will be up. Life is annoying that way. As usual, the story is also updated and posted first on the Beast Lair Type-Moon forum which is also another good place for T-M fiction if you guys wanted more stories in the Nasuverse.

* * *

_**Definitions:**_

**Oni **- Daemons, trolls, monsters.  
**Mahou** - Magic.  
**Sensei **- Person of higher rank/knowledge than the speaker. Teacher.

* * *

_**- Threads of Fate -  
- Chapter 9 -**_

_**- Teach me, Mahou Sensei! -**_

The warmth of the sun's rays shone on Fuyuki as, on the distant horizon, the sun began its journey below the sea. Emiya Shirou walked along the waterfront idly, watching the sea washing itself against the harbor walls. Thick metal railings blocked part of the serene view of the ocean. Unfortunately, he wasn't quite tall enough to see completely past the railing. In the distance, he spotted a tall figure looking out towards the sea, the sunset playing off her reflective sunglasses. The warm evening sunset tinted her white jacket with a tinge of orange and reflected off her golden hair.

"Mahou Sensei!" Shirou cried. He ran towards her and wrapped his arms around her waist and red camisole.

"Shirou?" the woman said. The surprise on her face quickly turned into a welcome smile. "It's good to see you again."

"I haven't seen you for so long! Where have you been, Sensei!?" he said, looking upwards towards her. His sensei knelt down so that they were both at eye level.

"Oh... been busy. You know how magi are... traveling here and there with barely any time to catch your breath. How have you been, kid?" she replied.

"Good! I've been practicing reinforcing stuff, like the lamps, pots and old bottles Kiritsugu keeps around in the shed. It's working now thanks to your help," he said, beaming.

It had been by pure chance how he'd bumped into her all those weeks ago. He'd first caught a glimpse of her in the park nearby using her magecraft to idly levitate a stone above her hand. After that, he'd tailed her to this little spot that overlooked the ocean and harbor, a location he seemed to bump into her by "accident" quite a bit now and one she seemed to enjoy watching the view of the ocean gently splashing against the seawalls. After that, it had taken no small amount of talking, shouting and begging to convince her to finally help him learn magecraft. However, the results of her teaching were finally paying off.

"Haha, that's my little superhero apprentice," she said, returning a warm smile to him and ruffling his hair. "And you've been sure to cast that very special spell I taught you?"

"Yep! Every night to keep the evil Oni spirits from finding me. Just like Sensei said." he said. Little Shirou was practically bouncing up and down on his heels in excitement. "Do ya think you can teach me some more magecraft today?"

"Heh. Maybe later, kid. You know, if you keep this up you might actually graduate to be a full superhero one day," she replied.

Their conversation, however, was cut short by the sound of crying in the distance. Looking around, Shirou watched as a fog slowly appeared around them, darkening the land and blurring the sun's light. He turned his gaze towards Shinto, the tall skyscrapers already disappearing from view by the grey fog in the area. The crying was coming from there.

"It sounds like someone might need help. Maybe from a superhero like you?" she said. She gave him push and ushering him towards the direction of Shinto. Shirou took broke off into a run before halting, turning around to see Sensei still standing at her original spot.

"Aren't you coming, Sensei?" he asked.

"Sorry, kid. I have to stay here," she replied, shrugging her shoulders. "Besides, if you rely on my help, you wouldn't be a hero would you? Go on. I know you can do it."

"Alright!" he replied. With gusto, Shirou sprinted away and headed towards the fog and Shinto.

* * *

_**- Monday Mornings -**_  
_**Day 5: February 5th**_

Consciousness slowly returned to Shirou as he awoke from his slumber. It was odd... he hadn't thought of Sensei for so long, not after she'd disappeared. Why had his dreams turned back towards her? He tried to remember what she looked like, but the image of her from the dream had already faded to a blur. And then there had been that fog... It sounded as if it were a child crying inside. However, no matter how far he ran forward, he could never reach her. Wherever he walked, all he saw was the grey fog. It didn't matter, he'd think about all these dreams latter if he got the chance.

He heard movement within the room, which was alarming considering he distinctly remembered going to sleep alone last night. Opening his eyes, he saw Saber calmly sitting next to him with both hands gently clasped in her lap. It appeared as if she was meditating. Had she been waiting for him to wake up or had she been there all night? He blinked several times, his groggy brain took several moments to process this information.

"Saber," he said.

"Yes, Shirou," his servant replied. Her olive green eyes looked at him attentively.

"Weren't you sleeping with Sakura and Taiga in another room?" he asked.

"Yes, that is correct," Saber said.

"Then why are you currently here?" he said.

"Because I left the room at night," she replied.

"Why?" he said.

"Because Sakura was asleep and Taiga's snoring was sufficiently loud enough for me to leave without being noticed," she replied.

"Why?" he asked.

"Well, I am not a physician, Shirou, but I believe the fat in her airway was stopping her from breathing thereby causing..." Saber began to say. It might have been due to the fact his head was still foggy after waking up, but he could have sworn Saber was toying with him.

"No, I meant why did you leave the room and come here," he replied.

"Because I am your Servant. I am supposed to be at your side to guard you against the possibility of attack," she replied. "Really, this should be obvious, Shirou."

"And that includes... uh... staying in my room and watching me sleep?" he replied. The thought of Saber, sitting and watching his every movement while he slept was unsettling to say the least.

"Being a Servant includes me being at your side no matter where you are or what you are doing," she replied.

A thought weaseled its way into his mind. It involved Saber, following him wherever he went. Watching his every movement... In the washroom... at school... while sleeping... like a stalker. Maybe even joining him in the bath and washing his back all the while nak...

That did it. The adrenaline that shot through his veins finally woke him up and he shot upward from his futon.

"No. no. no. no," he said rapidly while shaking his head. In addition to her being a girl, there would be no way he'd be able to sleep with her watching him at night. He'd probably die from sleep deprivation before the war was over and he told her as such.

"Don't be ridiculous Shirou. You did not even hear me when I sat next to you, do you really expect to survive the war sleeping alone if you could not even detect your own Servant walking in?" she said.  
"I have the house's alarm spell," he responded.

"Which Caster would remove with absolute ease or Assassin would calmly ignore and then proceed to murder you in your sleep. In the time it would take me to traverse the distance between our rooms you would be dead.  
"I still have my command seals," he said, raising his left arm to show her.

Saber sighed and uncharacteristically rolled her eyes. "Are we to waste another command seal on a frivolous request? What exactly will you do once you have exhausted the remaining two seals? We cannot beg the Grail to provide more simply because you foolishly wasted all three."

She called his bluff and now Shirou wasn't quite sure what to do. They stared at one another, unwilling to budge from their respective position and waiting for the other to blink; a game of chicken.

"I'll do it," Shirou warned. He held his arm forward as if it were a ward against Saber. Somehow, he didn't think she believed him.

"Truly, Shirou, I expected better from you given what you said in front of the Church. You promised me we would win this war together. If you are going to be this irresponsible and incompetent as a Master, then you are welcome to waste your seals," she replied.

"Ow, that was a low blow," Shirou thought to himself. She was right, however, he had promised to help her win the war.

He blinked as Saber stood up and walked to the door.

"I'll let you think about that for the rest of the day. We can return to this discussion later as, from the shouting in the kitchen, I believe Taiga is awake," Saber said before disappearing into the hallway.

He sat there silently, thinking about what Saber had just said. That odd sinking feeling in his stomach still wasn't going away. He had been awake for less than ten minutes and had already lost his first battle of the day. Rubbing his eyes, he headed for his dresser before Saber's last words sunk in.

"Wait... Taiga is awake?! How did I sleep in!?" he thought to himself. Moving as fast as Lancer, he hurried to get himself dressed.

* * *

The pleasant smell of cooking eggs filled the air as Shirou rapidly scrambled to finish cooking breakfast as quickly as possible. As it turned out, he hadn't woke up late but rather Fuji-nee had woken up early from, as she had called it, a sixth sense that Saber had left the room. He didn't have the heart to tell her Saber had left in the middle of the night. In order to placate Taiga, he had thrown out some toast with butter and marmalade in the vain hopes of distracting her till breakfast was ready.

"Shirou... I'm hungry!" cried Taiga. The famished school teacher banged on the table with her chopsticks like a petulant child.

"Then have some more toast... It's not my fault you actually woke up early for once," he muttered, keeping his voice under the sound of frying eggs.

"What did you say Shirou?" the schoolteacher said. Her face perked up hopefully, as if his muttered words were "breakfast is ready."

"Nothing, Fuji-nee," he replied.

"Aww..." she moaned, sinking to the table in depression.

Luckily, the room's other inhabitant, Saber, was raising less of a racket. With her toast in one hand, she quietly munched on the slice of bread while sampling the smatter of fruit jams at her disposal. Content with the food at the table, Saber waited patiently for Shirou to finish cooking and observed Taiga's crying and suffering.

Shirou took out a small block of tofu from the fridge and sliced it into smaller blocks. Taking extra care not to accidently drop any pieces, he slid the blocks of tofu from the cutting board into the pot of Miso soup. With the last task for breakfast cooking in the pot, he gave a sigh of relief.

Turning back to the main room, he saw Fuji-nee had now occupying herself with the television.

_**...several mysterious home invasions and three more brutal murders yesterday night. Authorities are still scrambling to identify a suspect in these murders and have requested support from the NPA and the Criminal Investigation Bureau. In the meantime, the police have issued a nighttime curfew. People are advised to return home early and avoid traveling the streets at night. If you have to go out at night, you are advised to travel in a group and stay together. When we return, reports yesterday of an intense gun battle in...**_

Shirou shook his head in shame. More deaths from the war. He had lain idle for one night and more innocent people had died. WIth so much going on in the war, this daily school routine seemed... insignificant.

As he looked at the main room, he noticed something odd.

"Saber, where did Sakura go?" he said.

"Sakura? She said she wasn't feeling too well and went to the washroom... although, that was over half an hour ago," Saber replied. Her brow creased in worry. "Finish breakfast, Shirou. I shall go find her."

Standing up, Saber slid open the ricepaper door and headed out into the hallway. He had just finished pouring the Miso soup into four bowls when he hear Saber shout for his name.

* * *

Shirou pulled the thermometer from Sakura's mouth and looked at the temperature.

"38.7 degrees celsius. That clinches it. There's no way you're going to school in this state," he said.

Upon running to the bathroom, Shirou had found Saber kneeling over Sakura. Sakura's entire body was soaked with sweat and he could feel the heat coming from her body even before he checked her temperature with his palm. However, the fact she barely stirred when he and Taiga had come into the bathroom worried him more. Saber had carried her to one of the side bedrooms while he had searched for the thermometer.

"Sorry, Senpai. I probably should have told you sooner but I thought it was going to be alright," said Sakura. Her head turned to Taiga who was peering behind Shirou. "Do you think I can still go to class?"

Sakura tried to rise but Shirou's hand stopped her, not that he'd needed to do so. Sakura had so little strength he wasn't even certain if she could stand up in her current state. Handed a towel by Saber, Shirou gently patted the accumulating perspiration from Sakura's brow.

"Don't be silly, what would happen if you fell unconscious on the way to school or back home?" interjected Fuji-nee. The exaggerated worry in her voice and her wide eyes told him part of Taiga's worry wasn't just on Sakura's health. On the other hand, Sakura would have had to be in a very bad state for Taiga's thoughts to wander away from food so he supposed that was a good sign.

"Then you wouldn't have a backup chef when I got sick," Shirou thought to himself dryly.

"Anyways, I have some spare clothes here that Sakura can fit and I'm sure I can call your home and explain the situation. Don't worry, Sakura, I can sort everything out at school and AHI'MGOINGTOBELATEFORSCHOOL!" screamed Fuji-nee. Kicking up dust and whirling up papers into the air, the late school teacher rocketed out of the room.

Poking his head out into the hallway, Shirou checked to make sure Fuji-nee hadn't slammed into the front door in her hurry to get out. He watched as the walls seemed to shudder as Taiga zoomed through the halls, grabbed her bag, put on her shoes, and opened and closed the door all at neck breaking speed. The papers she had ruffled in her haste were still floating downward in the air when she finally closed the front door.

"Wow... She's fast," said Shirou.

The front door slid open once more. "DON'TBELATEFORSCHOOL,SHIROU!" yelled Taiga, before shutting the door.

"Real fast..." he muttered. Sakura's voice turned Shirou's attention back into the bedroom and he knelt next to her.

"What'd you say, Sakura?" he said, moving closer to her.

"I'm alright, Shirou. Besides, Fujimura-sensei is right, you shouldn't be late for school. You've already done enough for me so please don't worry about me." she muttered.

"Heh. just focus on getting better, Sakura," he said. Shirou took the fresh damp towel the Saber offered and placed it upon her head. "Don't worry. I can handle myself."

Standing back up, Shirou headed towards the door. He took one last look at Sakura, her weary face smiling back towards his, before flicking the light switch and bathing the room in darkness. Several moments of silence passed before Sakura spoke.

"That's exactly why I worry. You always think you can handle everything by yourself," Sakura said.

* * *

Shirou quietly shut the door to the bedroom. That was the easy part done... now came the hard part. He turned around to see Saber waiting patiently for his orders as always. Grabbing her hand, he led her further down the hall so that Sakura wouldn't overhear their conversation. Once he was sure they were out of earshot, he faced Saber.

"Perhaps it is from our Master-Servant connection, but I sense you are going to make another foolish request for me to follow," she said even before he opened his mouth. Saber sighed as if mentally preparing herself before saying, "Very well. Say what you wish."

It might have been a slight hunch, but something was telling Shirou that his request wouldn't go well.

"I'd like you to stay at home and watch over Sakura. She often overestimates herself and I'm afraid she might get worse if I leave her alone. There's a lot of people walking to and from school so I should be fine without your protection during the day," Shirou said.

"No," Saber replied coldly. "Not only do you not want me to protect you at night but you also want to go to school alone as an amateur Magus without your Servant. Don't be ridiculous, Shirou. If you continue these foolish requests then you will assure our defeat in this war," She placed both hands on her hips and gave him a withering stare. Shirou recognized this stance from that time she scolded him about the yellow rain jacket; she wasn't going to budge an inch on her position.

However, he wasn't going to move either. Aside from the fact that bringing Saber to school would attract too much attention and cause too many question, it was more important that there was someone there for Sakura. Sakura was as close to him as family and he wanted someone there if her fever got worse. Having Saber stay by her side seemed to be the obvious solution.

"You're being unreasonable, Saber. Just stay at home and watch over Sakura. It'll be safe since it's light outside and there are people at school," Shirou said.

"I am being unreasonable? Shirou, you are in a war and yet you expect the other Masters to heed by these silly Magi rules? There are no rules in this war, do you not understand that? The rules provide protection only if all participants obey them. If a Servant finds you without me by your side then you will die even if people are around."

"Tohsaka said..." Shirou began.

"Tohsaka is not the remaining 5 Servants or Masters." interjected Saber.

The small Servant sighed before saying, "Shirou, is it because you dislike me? Do you truly hate me so much as your Servant so much that you refuse to have me serve by your side?"

The crease in her brow leveled and she looked upward directly into Shirou's eyes, her hands clasped together. Saber's eyes were wide as if she were a small kid asking for candy from the display instead of a legendary warrior. Shirou felt his heart drop.

_Don't look into her eyes. Don't look into her eyes..._

"Look. Saber, I'm sorry... Wait...! You're trying to guilt trip me, aren't you?" Shirou said in realization.

"Do not be silly, Shirou. I've never had to use guile to convince my own Master to accept my protection in the past," she replied, folding her arms in front of her chest. If he didn't know better, he thought he saw her suppress a grin.

"You didn't answer my question," he muttered quietly.

Shirou massaged the bridge of his nose, hoping to rub the growing headache away. He knew he wasn't going to win this one. Saber held the logical high ground and had better positioning. He wasn't going to win both battles so losing one battle to save another was his only recourse. He sighed before looking back at his obstinate Servant.

"Fine!" Shirou finally said in frustration, "I'll let you sleep with me! But only if you watch over Sakura while she's sick. That's my final offer."

Saber's head turned a bright crimson and her mouth dropped agape, before slumping back against the wall and sliding downward. Her voice was emitting an odd "Eeee" noise that sounded curiously like a boiling tea kettle. If he held his arms out, he thought he'd be able to feel the heat radiating from her body. Shirou looked at Saber oddly, trying to figure out why she had suddenly turned into a steam engine, before his brain finally caught up to what he'd said.

* * *

It was still chilly out this early in the morning. However, Shirou liked that. The cool air was refreshing and helped him thinking on the walk towards school. Two kids, he estimated they were still in elementary school, ran past him and hurried before turning the corner. Around him Shirou glanced around and was pleased to only see other students behind him. Saber had actually listened to him for once and stayed with Sakura.

Eventually, Saber relented and let him leave for school. In exchange, he would allow her to stay in the same room when he slept. It wasn't the best trade but sacrifices had to be made. He'd had to agree to a long list of demands from her: Come straight back home after school, don't follow anyone into their home, don't stay after school, don't go anywhere remote, and most importantly...

_Please, Shirou. If you feel you are in any serious danger, do not hesitate to use your command seal. His petite Servant gently grabbed his left hand and traced the intricate seals on his hand. Her olive green eyes peered into his._  
_"Promise me, Shirou," she said. Her eyes seemed to plead at him, but this time he knew they were genuine._  
_"Alright. I promise. Don't worry Saber, I'll be alright," Shirou said._

In front of him, he watched as a mother guided her daughter by the hand. The colorful backpack told him she was probably heading off to school. He tried to remember if it was perhaps his old elementary school they were going to, only to come up empty.

He didn't remember.

In fact, everything before the fire was just a blur. "Retrograde Amnesia" the doctors had called it, the inability to recall past events before a certain point. They had said it might come back partially, completely, or not at all. While sometimes he felt feelings of deja vu, the fact was that half of his life had been erased. Sometimes, he'd get odd feelings that would trigger hazy old memories... his mother reassuring him during a storm... his older sister teasing him... However, they always remained blurry and fractured.

In truth, the only family he knew of were Fuji-nee and Sakura. After Kiritsugu passed away, they were really all he had left. He couldn't bear the thought of losing either of them in this war, which was why Saber's words worried him even after so long.

_The rules provide protection only if all participants obey them._

Things had to be sacrificed to win this war, but what if it came down to victory and his family? He pushed those thoughts aside as he arrived at the front gates of Homurabara High School. He knew he'd have to deal with that issue later, but for now he had other things to worry about.

Stepping past the long white columns...

A sudden immense heat emanated from his chest and spread across his magic circuits, as if someone had placed hot coals in his heart. He collapsed to his knees, breathing heavily. What was happening? His thoughts suddenly turned to words his Sensei had said.

_Remember to apply this spell every week. You might think you're safe now, but magic inherently attracts the unusual and unknown; that includes evil. If you walk around at night without this ward, kid, odds are you'll be a nice appetizer for some monster of the week. Mmm... I feel like Takoyaki now..._

Normally, he'd easily remember to cast the spell every week, but with the start of the Grail War things had changed. Too many things to worry about, too many things he suddenly had to care for.

"Was this what Sensei had talked about when she said magecraft attracted evil?" Shirou thought to himself as he clutched his chest. He quickly glanced around the dirt school yard but everything seemed normal. Eventually, the burning heat from his chest and the tingle that ran across his magic circuits slowly went away, but he could still sense something amiss in the air, as if the air was tinged in sweet caramel. Something was definitely off at school.

"Eh? Emiya, are you alright?" said a soft voice. He looked and saw a diminutive girl at his side looking at him in worry. Her name was Saegusa if his memory served correct. Although he wouldn't consider himself popular with the girls at school, his knack with fixing electronics and devices did let him meet new faces at school.

"I'm fine, Saegusa. I just felt a little bit dizzy," said Shirou as he stood up. "I'll be alright."

"Oh, you too? A lot of people have been calling in sick recently. Must be a flu going around," she said. Happy to see that he was alright, the girl headed towards the school's main entrance.

"A flu, huh?" Shirou thought. Whatever was happening, he doubted it was as simple as that.

* * *

The bell for lunch range and the horde of zombies that masqueraded as students filed out of their classrooms. As much as he wished he was exaggerating, it looked as if all the students had all simultaneously crashed from a caffeine high... or had just been thrown out of bed. As bad as the midterm they'd just finished writing on World History was, he doubted that was the actual cause. Even the other students in the hall seemed muted.

Slinging his bag over the shoulder, he headed towards the council room. Even with all the weird flu going around, he still had to eat. In today's case, he was completely famished, perhaps due to what was going on at school. That was also something else he'd have to ask Tohsaka. Being the only full magus he knew of in Fuyuki, she'd be the best person to ask.

He headed for her classroom on the next level of the school. Ascending to her floor, he saw a plethora of students making their way out of their classrooms. At the end of the hall, he sighted Tohsaka's familiar raven black twin tails as she walked away from him.

"Oh, Tohsaka. Over here!" said Shirou.

Rin turned around, somewhat surprised to hear his voice. She took several steps towards him before stopping. Shock registered on her face before it turned to a bitter scowl. Her azure eyes seemed to glare directly at him and her hands were clenched into fists at her side.

Shirou halted in his tracks. He had a sudden ominous feeling about getting any nearer to her. What had he done wrong?

"Tohsaka?" he said with uncertainty.

She gave him one last menacing glare before whirling around and hurriedly walking away down the corridor. As she stalked off, Shirou thought he could see the cracks in the tiles that she'd stomped into the ground. Moments passed in the hallway before things returned to normal and the other students continued on their way.

"Jeez, Emiya. What did you do to Tohsaka?" asked one of the students in the hall.

"I honestly don't know," Shirou muttered.

"I don't think I'll ever understand women," he thought to himself.

* * *

"Whew, that took longer than I thought," said Shirou to himself. Slamming the old heater's frame shut, he flicked the heater's switch on and was greeted by warm air. It seemed something heavy had collided with the heater and disconnected the power connector to the heating coils. It had taken him some time, but he'd been able to resolder the connection. Personally, he suspected one of the students had collided with it and hadn't told the teacher; Class 3-2 had always been a rowdy bunch of students.

Wiping the sweat from his brow, he looked up at the clock hanging in the classroom. It had taken him twenty minutes to fix the heater.

After Tohsaka had run off during lunch, he hadn't seen her the rest of the day despite his attempt to find her once again. In the end, he decided to simply finish his lunch in the student council room. It was at that time that Issei had asked him make a quick repair of the heater's on switch. Unfortunately, the actual cause of the problem was much worse and it had taken him much longer to fix.

Really, he'd have to remember to do these repairs during lunch time because if they took too long then Saber would probably yell at him again. Speaking of which, he needed to hurry home lest his Servant did just that when he got back.

Grabbing his bag from the table, he opened the classroom door. The hallway outside was empty. Making his way towards the stairs, he looked outside and watched as the last trickle of students walk out of the school's main gate. Normally, there'd be more students hanging around the school for club activities like Archery or Kendo but the principle had suspended all after school activities due to the recent murders.

As he walked down the empty corridor, only the echo of his shoes against the school's floor met his ears. In some senses, it was quite eerie seeing the school being this empty and quite so soon after school. An unsettling ache grew in his stomach as he continued walking towards the stairs.

_Listen to your gut, kid. It normally can sense danger better than your mind can. _

He looked behind him, checking to see if anyone was following him. However, the hall was empty.

"It's probably just my imagination," he said hopefully.

As he headed for the stairs he noticed someone's silhouette splayed against the ground. Above him stood Tohsaka on the next flight of stairs, the sun's rays shining against her back. Her left sleeve was rolled up, showing her arm and the neon blue lines that flowed and covered her entire forearm. Her magic crest glowed a light neon blue, showing that prana was already flowing through it. Rin leveled a stare towards him that could have melted steel.

"Tohsaka?" said Shirou.

_- End Chapter -_

* * *

_**- Outtakes 1/just for fun -**_

"Hello, Shirou," said Tohsaka.

Shirou looked at her for several moments, before a sardonic look crossed his face. "So... were you just waiting for me on the stairs all this time?"

"Huh?" said Tohsaka, startled.

"I mean, given the conditions of the both of us bumping into one another at this exact time, you were obviously waiting here but what would happen if I took the other stairs to get down? Would you have to run all the way across the top floor to get to me in time? Maybe you'd be out of breath and unable to make your calm scary speech," said Shirou with a snarky smile.

Tohsaka's eye twitched once before she aimed her index finger towards him.

"Shut up and die!" yelled Tohsaka. Dark spheres erupted from her hand towards him. With near superhuman speed, his reinforcement allowed him to trace the Gandr shots paths and dodge them.

"Oh no! What am I to do? It's a good thing you're a 100% certain there's absolutely no one at school able to hear your loud screaming and magic bullets or else you'd even have bigger problems. I mean, it's not like school just got let out and there might actually be students still in the classroom. You DID check all the classrooms to make sure, right?" said Shirou. To an outside observer, the redhead's movements looked like simple blurs.

"DIE! GAH!" she screamed.

Several minutes later, the school exploded as Rin used the combined power of all her gems to try and kill Shirou.


End file.
